Naruto: Nightwalker
by AlphaDelta1001
Summary: Thirteen years after the Kyuubi attack, the village is undergoing change from the appearances of an unknown assassin, and the mystery surrounding one Naruto Uzumaki. Join him as he makes his way to become the strongest ninja in Konoha.NarutoHarem
1. Prologue

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

Prologue

_**13 Years after Kyuubi Attack**_

_**1:45AM, Somewhere in Konohagakure**_

There was a clear night sky over Konoha, the stars twinkling brightly, the crescent moon smiling down at the earth, and the cool breeze drifting through the air, was a sure sign of good fortune for the Hidden Leaf Village. However, on this strand of air, came the scent of foreboding, as a dark figure could be seen leaping across the village rooftops towards the very edge of the village area nearest the mountains. His form silhouetted the sky, but nobody took notice. Even for those walking around the streets thought it was just a bird.

The relatively small figure leapt from one roof to another effortlessly, before stopping short of a series of houses bordering a small river weaving through this area. His eyes fell upon the bridge arching over it and, marking the next series of houses carefully, leapt forward, skipping on the bridge's railing and up onto the next series of roves.

He traveled for another few hundred meters before becoming perched on the edge of another roof. Hidden away in the shadows, the young figure then glared down towards the entrance of what looked to be an estate built into the cliff-side of the Hokage Mountains. The building was nothing too fancy or too dull. It had a nice, wide open garden up front with plenty of foliage, and a perimeter fence surrounding the garden. To further the figure's observations, he saw that there were at least a dozen guards outside, and judging from the masks and black attire, he could tell they were ROOT members.

The figure watching them was short, wearing black trousers and sandals, a ninja mesh top and over that a black jacket with a white fur collar, a hood, and it was zipped up. It also had a red flame pattern along the bottom rim, and the hood concealed the man's face almost completely. Even if the hood were to fall away, it would be useless to see his face, since he was wearing an ANBU mask that was red on one side and white on the other, completely covering his face. He also had a huge scroll tied to his back, and several more slipped into a bandoleer he wore around his waste. Furthermore, the man covered his entire outfit with a black cloak. To him, it was the perfect mask for his identity.

Looking around where he was crouched, perched on the very edge of the roof, he began taking closer looks at the perimeter defenses and building. He saw from where he sat perched abut 500 yards out, that the fence was tagged with paper, indicating that the fence was rigged to detect anyone to set foot across it, and rigged to sound off alarms. He also noticed that the electric wires running into the building had tags hanging from them, as were the poles, and from closer inspection, a lot of the high points that could gain access to the roof of the building were rigged too.

After studying the perimeter fencing, he then began to analyze the guards patrolling the area. For several nights now he had been watching the guards move in and out on a regular basis, and had gotten a full report on their activities. After watching for a few minutes, he knew exactly how the schedule would run, and where the holes were. Knowing that this was his only chance to enter the vicinity and escape perfectly without anybody catching him, he knew he couldn't miss this opportunity. After all, this was a particularly important night.

Nodding, the boy held his right hand up to his mouth, and from his thumb he bit down on it, drawing blood. Padding his fingertips with it, coating them in red, he placed it on the roof space in front of him, and with a puff of smoke, a falcon appeared. The summoned animal, quiet, looked around at its summoner and bowed to him. An exchange of silent words engaged them, with the figure reaching into his pouch behind him and pulled out a paper tag. Slapping it onto the stomach of the falcon, he then bid it to be on its way, knowing it knew what to do.

The falcon bowed and then took off, taking flight over the establishment. It swooped right overt the fence, seeing that it didn't set off any alarms, before taking flight higher into the sky. Hovering near the most foliated areas, it let out a quick screech.

The young male waiting on the rooftops nodded and, forming a hand-sign, disappeared with a puff of smoke. A split second later, another puff of smoke appeared, not on the roof, but under the very seal that was placed on the airborne falcon. The young assassin appeared out of the smoke, free falling and performing a few flips, before diving straight into the waiting bushes below.

A pair of guards close the entrance of the gate caught wind of the rustling in the bushes to their left and glanced at each other.

"Go check that out," one of the masked ROOT guards said. His partner nodded and walked over, drawing his sword from his sheath behind him.

The dispatched guard disappeared into the darkness of the edge of the garden, stepping out of the light of the lamps and out of his partner's sight. Reaching the source of the supposed rustling, the ROOT ninja then began to probe the bushes one after the other. He forced aside vines and cut away at the branches obscuring his view, looking around through the dark and thick undergrowth for any signs of life. It was then, just as he was leaning in to take a closer look at a 'peculiar' looking flower, it suddenly shot out at him with a hand, striking at his neck and pulling him in sharply and soundlessly. The only sound was the rustling of more bushes.

The guard's comrade standing at the gate looked over when he heard the sudden sharp rustle of bushes and stepped forward. Unable to see anything, the guard then called for back-up. Three more showed up, and he pointed towards the bushes and trees.

"Go find Eagle! We might have a situation."

The guards nodded and drew their swords, rushing into the bushes. The guard watched from the sidelines through the dark, listening and watching for any signs of life. It was then, out of the darkness, he heard a light clang of a blade and suddenly a grunt, signaling trouble. The ROOT guard stepped back and drew his sword out; he reached up to his headpiece and growled.

"Blast it…" But before he could do anything else, a shuriken shot out of nowhere, and knocked his head piece clear out of his ear, at the same time scarring his mask. He grunted in shock and was about to shout out for help, but was silenced. All he heard was a thud and his vision go blurry, and he felt a seeping, warm sensation escaping his neck. He reached up to his throat, unable to breathe as his own blood seeped out of the wound in his windpipe. Within seconds, he fell to the ground, only to be caught and dragged into the shadows by the assassin crouching behind him.

With the bodies dealt with, the short, yet well-rehearsed assassin then began closing in on the building wedged into the cliff side. Reaching the edge of the garden close to the entrance, he began counting the remaining guards. There were seven left, and he knew that he had to take them all out if he had a chance of escaping.

Spotting one closing in on his position, he crouched further into the bushes, flicking his wrist. It was with that a blade shot-out from under his right jacket's sleeve, reflecting a bit of the light from its shine.

The guard drew closer…

* * *

Inside the estate hidden in the mountain, underneath a glass roof, there was a round, conference room of sorts. The room consisted of a red and green trademark design, with large pillars, three floors with walkways visible, and on the ground floor, an oak made, large round table with twelve seats. Most of these seats were empty, and the number of guards there were numbered to around thirteen at the most, plenty enough for the three figures sitting at this round table. One of them sat in the upper-class seat, reserved for the head of this particular organization. He wore white and black robes, his right arm in a sling and a majority of his face and head wrapped in white bandages. Furthermore, as understandable for his age, the man also had a walking stick, and the only working side of his body was his left side. The two other people sitting at the table in seats across from each other were the two of the most recognized of the village elders, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, who were looking upon the head of ROOT with great intent.

"Well, Danzo," the elder Homura began, "What do you plan to do with the container of the Kyuubi?"

"He is, after all, an important asset to this village…" Koharu stated.

"His isolation from the villagers should help you to be able to acquire him from the Hokage's circle."

"The people will hail you as the hero of Konohagakure for finishing off the Yondaime's handiwork, only in reality; you will be taking the little demon under your wing and train him to become the weapon he is supposed to be."

"Getting rid of the child will be easy. Its just pasting the blame on the person that is the problem…"

The leader, designated Danzo, lowered his head as he took the elders words to heat. However, he disregarded their words for the time being and sighed. "The Hokage constantly keeps an annoyingly close watch on the boy. He's even gone as far as to paste not only Anko Mitarashi on the boy's watch, but also Iruka Umino as well as extra protection…"

"Iruka poses no threat to the progress of this village," Koharu stated. "He is but a pawn, just like the other Chunin…"

"It's Anko Mitarashi that's the problem…" Homura finished.

Danzo nodded his head. "Unfortunately, I cannot make a move to get the boy, or I'll be caught. Hiruzen Sarutobi has already got enough eyes on me as it is. I'm assuming he's taken into account some of the rumors floating around the top…"

"Please, define 'rumors'…?" Koharu queried.

"As in, the situation back during the war in Amegakure… when I attempted to recruit the assistance of Hanzo…"

"Ahh… that one…" Koharu said, looking over at Homura.

"It's a shame though," Danzo said, lowering his head. "Those mongrel rebels are causing too many problems for him. Now we barely hear from Amegakure at all…"

"What of the info detail from your spy?" Koharu asked.

"Unfortunately, I have not heard from him since. All contact with him has been severed," Danzo said, looking up with a grim look. "There is the possibility that he has been either captured or killed. However, whether my spy is dead or not is of little consequence. There is something going on in Amegakure, and I intend to find out what it is."

"Could it possibly be civil war related? Last I heard Hanzo and his forces were involved in a war with the populace…"

"Perhaps," Danzo said calmly. "But there has been little or no chatter to support this. Amegakure's borders are a strict no-go-zone. Completely sealed off…"

"But what of your plans for the Kyuubi?" Homura asked.

Danzo looked over at him. "I intend to bide my time till the right moment," the old war-hawk said. "Presently, the little bundle of energy is proving to be a nuisance around Konoha. Reports from my overseers say that he is causing much havoc for the villagers, befouling the Hokage monuments and making a mockery of what this village stands for! It's starting to become a real errant."

"The demon is just a little troublemaker. He can cause no harm as of yet," Koharu said.

"The Hokage should keep a tighter leash on it," Homura stated, earning a nod of agreement from Koharu.

"Unfortunately, the Hokage is continuing to make it a point that the boy is nothing more than that, a little trouble-maker," Danzo said. "He is currently attending the academy, and scoring at a rather unsatisfactory level. Grades at average, progress hindered… no genius of course. But in spite of his incompetence, he is still the container of the Kyuubi, and must be treated in high discussion and must be controlled."

"Little monster…"

"Nothing more than a kettle about to boil over…"

Before anymore words could be spoken, there was the sound of shattering glass overhead and suddenly, a body came plummeting down from the ceiling, landing with a ear-splinting crash right in the center of the table. The very impact caused it to leap off the ground abut a foot, and shocked the elders, and surprised Danzo.

When the body came to rest, it was revealed to be one of Danzo's ROOT guards, dead with a kunai lodged in his head. Danzo gritted his teeth and rose to his feet, looking around.

"We've been infiltrated!" he yelled. "Guards…"

Just as the guards were gathering at the railing, ready to come to Danzo and the elders' aid, there suddenly came a rain of shadowy figures from the ceiling above. Emerging through the massive hole in the skyline, the figures leapt through the air, straight for each corresponding guard. The solid figures landed one after another beside or in front of every guard on the upper and lower floors in sight. The guards leapt back in surprise, drawing swords and ready to strike. But before any of them could, each of the small figures dressed in black went up in flaming balls of fire.

The explosions rocked the very foundations of the estate, disintegrating a couple of the ROOT ninja and blowing apart the others. Blinded by the onslaught of explosions, and caught up amidst the blasts, Danzo, Homura and Koharu remained where they were, holding their ground. It was when the explosions faded and the smoke lifted they looked around to find that all the guards in the immediate area have been dispatched.

Danzo frowned and, from his cane, drew a straight-bladed sword, looking around for any more attackers. However, what he failed to notice was that the corpse that had fallen from the ceiling before had a seal tag placed upon its chest. So, just as Danzo was turning on his axis, a puff of smoke exploded from the dead ROOT ninja's chest, and once it cleared, it revealed the crouching assassin, glaring directly at Danzo.

The two village elders spotted him first, but before either of them could react, the unknown assassin threw his arms out towards them, flicking his wrists and suddenly, clusters of shuriken flew out from under his sleeves, hitting the elders' like targets on the range. They were dead before they even hit the ground.

Sensing the assassin behind him and kill the elders, Danzo spun around, performing a few quick hand signs before slashing out with his blade at the attacker. A stream of wind escaped his sword, extending the blade's attack indefinitely as he made the horizontal slash. The assassin however saw the attack and crouched flat down onto his stomach on the table, letting the attack pass over, before throwing his right arm forward. Another cluster of shuriken flew from his hand at this, and flew straight at the old war-hawk.

Danzo readjusted his blade and slashed downwards, effectively knocking aside some of the shuriken and attempting to kill the intruder at the same time. The assassin, however, pushed off of the ground and leapt to the side, spinning through the air in rapid succession, just as the wind blade came down and struck the table, destroying it in a hail of splinters and dust.

Danzo suffered a couple of scars from the shuriken he didn't deflect, thrown by the assassin. He readjusted his attention and glared at the boy, slicing through the air with his wind blade again down at the short man. The assassin managed to leap through the air again, this time retreating. Flipping through the air, the assassin flung his hands through the air, sending a third barrage of kunai at Danzo. Danzo leapt out of the way, gritting his teeth as he watched the assassin gain distance, landing on the second story on the railings of the above walkway.

The remaining elder growled and slapped his hands together again in another series of hand signs, inhaling air quickly before throwing his upper-body forward and across, letting loose a series of wind trails from his mouth, which sliced through the air, straight at the assassin. It tore up the second story walkway, effectively clouding the whole area with smoke, and seemingly consuming the assassin, sending him to his doom.

Danzo breathed out and in, catching his breath and frowning up at the second story, seeing the dust and debris continue to rain down from his technique. Scanning the area, he saw that there was no more presence to be weary of, and lowered his head. Sheathing his sword away, he confirmed that the battle was over.

Sighing, the old man prepared to make his departure, turning on his heel and intending to head back to HQ, and attend to this new problem. However, when he turned and his eyes fell upon the shadows near the entrance, he stopped in his tracks and his expression showed his slight surprise when he saw the familiar silhouette of the assassin standing on the ledge right above the entrance. He was standing at an angle that would have deemed him invisible to the naked eye.

Upon being spotted, the assassin stepped over the ledge and dropped to the ground floor, landing in a crouched position and a light thud. When he did and rose to his feet, Danzo furrowed his brow and was about to draw his sword, when he suddenly detected another presence beside him. Looking to his right, he saw another or… shocking enough, the same assassin step out from the shadows, followed by another, and another and another. Soon, he was surrounded by over a dozen more assassins, all wearing the same clothing, the same clothing and was the same height.

He looked around him, seeing that he was surrounded by copies and smirked. He adjusted his grip on his sword.

"Nothing more than Shadow Clones…" In a swift, lightning fast movement that was impossible for a man of his age to perform, Danzo spun on his heel and drew his sword, a loud whip-crack of wind sounding and ripped through the air, striking many of the clones and wiping them out. They all perished in puffs of white smoke as the trail of wind emerging from the sword slashed through the air and cut through them one after the other.

Stopping mid-spin, Danzo once again adjusted grip and performed several hand signs. Once completed, he spun around fully, slashing his sword across and effectively scarring the inside of the building, and killing the rest of the clones with a final wind slice. They all went up in puffs of smoke, with an explosion of debris to follow from the old-man's attack.

"You'll have to do better than that to defeat me, assassin," Danzo called out, straightening his stance and looking back towards the entrance, only to find that his opponent had vanished. He looked around, trying with difficulty to try and find his attacker. "I've braved many conflicts in many countries over my years as a ninja of Konoha, and have learned many techniques! It'll take more than a Clone Jutsu to get the better of me!"

It was then, when the dust cleared again that Danzo was faced again with another onslaught of clones emerging from the shadows, only the numbers have beyond doubled. Surrounding him on all levels of the building, Danzo saw hundreds of clones standing, perched or sitting around him casually. He was surrounded, and effectively closed in by a Mass Shadow Clone technique, which made him raise his eyebrows in surprise.

"Mass Shadow Clone Jutsu eh?" he curiously stated, looking around. "Well, a thousand more just isn't going to cut it…" Slowly raising his sword wielding arm up and, with the pommel of his sword's handle, pushed up one of the many bandages covering his hidden eye, Danzo revealed his secret weapon. It was underneath the bandages he concealed a three tomoed Sharingan, immediately setting it to glare directly at the masses of clones surrounding him. "Very well then…"

Performing a brief variety of more hand signs, Danzo then took in a deep breath and, with one swift movement, threw his upper-body forward once again. "Fire Style: Grand Fireball Technique!"

The next attack left his lips with a loud boom and a rush of hot-air. In merely a few seconds, a massive ball of flames escaped his lungs and quickly spread throughout the room. The old war-hawk himself guided the technique, sending it spreading into the masses of clones, obliterating one after the other, and directing the flames in every possible angle. From here, he performed another variety of hand signs and, increasing his range, spun around and performed yet another Fire Style technique in a blink of an eye.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Technique!" Danzo shouted, smaller balls of fire shooting out from his lips this time, targeting individual groups of shadow clones one after another, sending them into oblivion like the rest of them. He kept spitting out fire ball techniques one after another with absolute precision, eventually coming down to one last assassin standing by the entrance. For this last one, he directed one last Grand Fireball Technique, only to have the assassin raise his right hand and produce what appeared to be a glowing ball of blue chakra. The swirling ball struck the fireball technique head on, and dispersed it in a blink of an eye.

As the flames dispersed, Danzo saw that the last assassin was still alive, and easily assumed that it was the real one. In their wake they had completely destroyed the conference hall, burning walls and scarring the entire room. The entire structure was left crumbling and ablaze amidst the destruction. It was a miracle this place was still standing.

Danzo smiled, seeing his opponent still alive. He clapped his hands together slowly.

"Oh, exceptional… absolutely exceptional skill for a common assassin," Danzo exclaimed in his stoic voice, showing no hint of emotion whatsoever. He lowered his hands, watching as the assassin stepped forward a bit from the shadows. "I appraise your abilities to manipulate chakra so well. You truly are something more…"

The assassin flicked his left and right wrists, two short blades suddenly shooting forth from under his sleeves at the wrists with audible slicing sounds. Clenching his fists, the young male slowly proceeded to continue forward, intent on finishing the old man once and for all. All the while, he listened to him talk.

"You've coordinated your techniques well. Skill like that would be very useful in ROOT," Danzo stated, lowering his head a little. "How would you like to join me, assassin? Together you and I will be able to take Konohagakure from the Hokage, and make this village a better, safer, and more just society? I can make you a viable asset of my organization!"

The assassin stopped in his tracks, looking up and taking a closer look at his opponent. Considering his observations quickly, he then stepped, back into the shadows.

"No? Then perhaps a deal then? Name you price," Danzo offered.

Frowning, the assassin flicked his wrists again, his blades retracting. This sight made Danzo smile, but it struck him a little curious as he watched the short figure reach for his right sleeve and adjust something concealed underneath it. But it looked as though he was just fixing his sleeve and nothing more.

"I can give you anything you want? Maybe offer you some suitable accommodations, or a certain amount of ryu? Just name it…"

Stepping forward, the boy raised his right arm upwards towards Danzo and with his left, gripped the trigger hidden underneath his sleeve with his finger. Suddenly, with a pull of that trigger, the barrel now protruding from under his sleeve went off with a loud bang that ricocheted around the hall. Danzo let out a loud 'oof' of discomfort and staggered back as the air was knocked out of him. With his steps of agony, the man looked down at his stomach to see that the assassin had unexpectedly fired with some sort of device a kunai at an extremely high velocity. It had impaled him straight in the stomach, with blood already beginning to seep out.

Without knowing exactly what the assassin had used to hit him, the war-hawk collapsed to the ground with a loud thud. He was dead within seconds, his cane and sword clattering to the floor, joining him.

The assassin lowered his arm, content with his job and adjusting his sleeve to cover his kunai gauntlet. With a frown, he walked forward, coming to stand next to Danzo's lifeless corpse. No lingering shred of pity or any signs of emotions could be seen on him, mostly due to the mask, but his body didn't rattle or tremble at all. The assassin just stood silently and glared down at the old man.

Shifting a little, the short man glanced down at his shoulder, where he saw a trickle of blood escape a tear in his coat. He ran a thumb over it, and found that he had been cut by Danzo's Air Release Technique. The Jutsu had left quite a gash in his side, but it was to be of no consequence.

Ignoring it for now, the assassin turned back to his kill. Without hesitation, he rolled the old man over, seeing his Sharingan lying still in its socket.

Proceeding to extract it, the young assassin knelt down and simply took the Sharingan from its user. It wasn't messy; it was just a clean push and pull. He placed the eyeball into a water flask from his pocket and sealed it. Afterwards, he then took the old man's cane and, sheathing it onto his back, and pocketing the Sharingan, turned on his heel and began to leave. However, the assassin did not forget to clean up the mess he had made, and tossed a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it straight up into the ceiling.

Just as the assassin exited the facility through the front doors, the bomb went off, causing the unstable roof, as well as most of the Cliffside to come cascading down onto itself, burying the entire site. The assassin didn't even look back at the explosion or the avalanche of rubble, only raising his right arm to allow his falcon to land onto his shoulder. He pets it in congratulations, and allowed him to fly off, freeing him for a job well done.

Just another day at work…

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

* * *

**AUTHOR's NOTE:**

Excuse me readers, i am currently experiencing technical difficulties with my review access. Could those who have reviewed me already send the review again please for the first chapter and the second? i would really appreciate to read them. Thank you...


	2. Graduation

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

Graduation

_**That very next morning…**_

The local Ramen bar was surprisingly quiet around this time. Much more disappointed then usual, the owners expected to be having a lot more customers than one this morning, since they were, after all, offering a new breakfast special Ramen that was both healthy and nutritious. However, the only people they managed to attract with this new sale were Iruka and Naruto, but that was about it.

The only person sitting at the counter at present was their favorite, spiky-haired blonde, who was now gorging on a delectable bowl of a Special Morning Miso Ramen. Teuchi and Ayame both stood at the counter and smiled as they watched the short bundle of energy consume his third bowl this morning, before grinning up at them happily with squinted eyes.

"Aye…slow down Naruto, you'll choke," Ayame exclaimed.

"Remember, savor the flavor. Let it rest in your mouth before continuing its journey down your throat," Teuchi told him. "It has to go down in luxury; otherwise you will end up with a unpleasant stomach ache in the foreseeable future!"

"Oh, don't fret old-man!" Naruto said, wiping his chin of some excess Ramen broth. "I know exactly how to savor my ramen! It must be treated with the very dignity it was created for, to be eaten and enjoyed. You must hold it in the highest respect, and let it go down remembered, by gorging on it mercilessly and swallowing it without hesitation. That's my way of the Ramen!"

"Ha-ha! Good one, kid!" Teuchi exclaimed, taking the pot of boiling noodles and assorted ingredients from the stove, and carefully pouring another bowl full into Naruto's empty one. "Here! Have another one on the house!"

"Thanks, old-man!" the boy exclaimed before once again gorging on noodles. He was careful not to splatter any on his black, fur-collar jacket, or strain his right arm that was wrapped in a few bandages. It was while he was dining gracefully on his meal did Ayame fully take note of the bandages around his arm and pointed it out. Her father went off to do some of the dishes, and allowed her to keep an eye on their favorite customer.

"Man this is good!" Naruto said, a piece of noodle and some broth sticking to his cheeks.

"Hey, Naruto-kun! What happened to your arm?" she asked, blinking in surprise. "Did you hurt yourself? It must have been a pretty nasty wound for it to be bandaged up so much…"

Naruto looked up at her briefly and then towards the area of his arm where the joint met the shoulder. He smiled and looked back up at her, grinning. "Nah! Don't worry about it! I just fell out of a tree while training! It's no big deal!"

Ayame sighed and smiled at him in relief. "That's good, Naruto-kun. But, just try to be careful while you're training, okay…"

"Yeah!" Naruto exclaimed, giving her the thumbs up. "I'll be careful!" He then dug back into his meal a second later. His boisterous smile and happiness made Ayame giggle, who then headed off to do some f her other duties.

Unknown to her, Naruto took a quick glance at her over the edge of the Ramen bowl his head was ducked into, the angle at which his head was placed sending an overcastting shadow that concealed much of his eyes, but revealed it in a different light. In his stare, there was a significant change, like a mask had just been removed by the very child these eyes belonged too. They were no longer glistening with their usual happiness, they were dark, drawing in the shadows and creating an eerie reflection, with the sapphire gleam turning into a slightly duller shade of blue, with rings of fatigue appearing as ringed bags beneath his eyes.

These weren't the eyes of a human, no…

They were the eyes of a tired child… eyes of a raved dog…

"_I'm glad you don't know me that well, Ayama-chan…"_ the boy thought in a far away voice, before turning back to his food and beginning to gorge on it again.

He downed it in the next several minutes, and sighed happily, licking his lips. "Yummy! That was so good!" Ayame smiled over at him from the casher area, where she stood clearing up some of the notes from the desk.

"Well, I'm glad you liked it, Naruto-kun," she replied, shrugging. "My dad makes the best Ramen in the entire village! Its him that you should be singing your praises too!"

"You make great Ramen too, Ayame-chan!" Naruto exclaimed.

Ayame blushed and rubbed the side of her cheek with her hand bashfully. "Well… I don't make it that good, Naruto-kun…"

"Of course you do!" Naruto said, leaping off of his chair. Pulling from his pocket several bills, he handed them over to Ayame and nodded to her. "I've got my Genin Exams today! Wish me luck, okay!"

"Of course, why wouldn't I?" Ayame replied, smiling kindly down at the boy who smiled back. "Good luck, Naruto-kun! I know you will do well!"

"Thanks, Ayame-chan!" Naruto shouted with a wave as he left the shop. "Bye old-man! Thank you for the Ramen!"

"See yah at lunch, kid!" Teuchi's voice followed after as Naruto began jogging up down the road towards the Ninja Academy. He set himself a fair pace, which was pretty fast for a boy of his age, but not a bit least a surprise, due to his occupation and what not.

He continued his run, passing by individual villagers, as well as small groups of people along the way. Many of them watched him run by, whereas some gave him dirty looks behind his back. The yellow haired youngster ignored them, and pushed on, going so far as to gently shove by people to keep up his pace, calling out 'sorry' to them but not stopping, so as to not waste time.

Eventually he reached the point where he could see the Academy, about a mile down the road and smirked, only to feel a familiar presence come up beside him and glanced to his left. When he did, he saw a very familiar face running right beside him, wearing a green spandex uniform with orange legwarmers, as well as bearing black, bowl cut hair and very big eyebrows. Naruto raised an eyebrow when he saw the boy also wearing silver shackle live accessories on his wrists and ankles with marking on their sides, indicating that they were weight seals.

The boy turned and grinned at him. "Why if it isn't my good friend, Naruto! How are you this fine and beautifully painted early morning?" the boy exclaimed in question. Naruto smirked back at him, continuing his run.

"I'm fine! And a good morning to you too, Lee!" Naruto replied, nodding to him. "Going for an early hour run?"

"Oh yes! Yes indeed! As always!"

"Good to see you're still keeping in great physical fitness!"

It was after the two of them have been running for several more yards in silence did they both smirk at each other and immediately pick up the pace. Side-by-side, on equal ground, the two of them gained speed, dust up hurling behind them as they shot down the road at an unbelievably fast pace. They past people by, who watched in shock as two blurs, one yellow and one green, shoot past them.

"To the Academy, Naruto-kun!" Lee yelled, picking up the speed. "I will beat you to the gates this time!"

"Not on my watch, Bushy Brows!" Naruto yelled back, gaining even more speed.

The two of them were moving so fast that it looked to them that they were gaining tunnel vision. However, it was all due to their speed and eye focus, and with the increase in their speed, they continued to move down that tunnel. The Academy drew nearer and nearer, and both of them were rushing at it with all their might, panting and gritting their teeth. It was then, as soon as they were within reach of it, they both skidded to a halt, up hurling more dirt and dust before stopping just short of the gate. Lee then turned on his heel and began running in a different direction, waving back at Naruto who took a moment to watch his friend depart.

"It was a tie this time, my friend!" Lee exclaimed. "Till next time; when I challenge you to a marathon run around the village!"

"Can't wait, Bushy Brows!" Naruto called back, waving at him till he was out of sight.

Once Lee was gone, Naruto headed into the academy, hands in his pockets and a smile on his face. However, he dipped his head so that his eyes became overshadowed, masking the true emotions reflected in them. It was dropping his usual cool and happy mask partially that allowed him this breather.

"_Boy… what a night. Thank the Kyuubi for his rapid healing powers,"_ Naruto thought, moving his right shoulder a bit to adjust the tension. _"Must have been one hell of a Jutsu… but I'm just glad that I finally have those old bastards off of my case…permanently"_

His fur-collar black jacket with red flame patterns shifted as he pulled his right hand out of his pocket, pulling out a kunai and tossing it, so that he held onto the blade and glanced down at the handle. There, he saw the familiar seals of the secret new Jutsu and Technique he had developed, and had used on several occasions, but only for emergencies. He furrowed his brow and shrugged, pocketing the weapon back into his orange pants pocket. He adjusted his arms again, his jacket parting slightly down the zip area to reveal a athletic chest and torso pressed up against the tight netting of his mesh shirt.

"_I just want to get this thing over with…goy…"_

After working his way through corridor after corridor, he eventually arrived at his homeroom and entered. Shaking his head, he looked up to see that the classroom was partially filled with students, all of them sitting or standing around, talking to others. A few eyes gazed at him as he entered the room, and he took his seat in the center, second row. He groaned and sat down, rubbing his forehead.

"Ugh…should have slept in…"

"You're telling me. You look awful," another voice spoke up from beside the seated blonde. He looked to his left to see one Shikamaru Nara looking at him with a raised eyebrow, fingers laced where he sat propped up, obviously having tried to doze off before. Naruto blinked as he looked at him, reaffirming his usual mask of deceit and smiling.

"Well, I'm not exactly the type the wear make-up, aren't I?" Naruto replied to his earlier comment. "It's not like you're looking any better though…"

"Duh, I always look like this…" Shikamaru replied, running a hand through his pineapple shaped hair, scruffying it up a it close to the ponytail. "It's too troublesome trying to do your hair in the morning…"

"Spare me a moment," Naruto said with equal exhaustion, while holding up his right arm to show him the bandages around his arm. "I just got up after one hell of a training session last night. It was a real mess, I tell yah…"

Shikamaru shared the bandages a glance, before looking up at Naruto's eyes. "You know, if you spent more time studying then training and honing in on your techniques, then perhaps you might stand a better chance of balancing out your practical and literary scores a bit, and pass with at least dull colors…"

"Oh yeah, well you're not doing too hot yourself, buddy," Naruto rebutted in a cocky tone. "Last I checked you were failing in both practical and examination…"

"Tsk… whatever," Shikamaru said, resting his chin on folded arms and lying out on the desk in front of him. "It's too much of a drag. I say go with the flow, get the best with what you got, and try scoring high… well… if you can bother to reach high…"

"_My God…"_ Naruto thought, giving Shikamaru a highly animated look of sympathy and disbelief. _"I have never met anyone with a level of motivation as low as Shikamaru and on top of that, 100 Percent laziness…"_

"How do you think you went in yesterday's written examination?" Shikamaru asked; surprisingly still awake where he sat, with his arms and head on the table "You think you got a good mark?"

"Oh, I'm sure you'll be surprised," Naruto exclaimed, resting his feet up on the desk and putting his hands behind his head. He let out a shy and smiled up at the ceiling. "I just want to become a Genin today. That's all I've got written down on my schedule…"

"Same here," Shikamaru barely replied, earning a tick mark to appear on Naruto's head.

"_What a slacker…"_

For the next half an hour, students filed into the class one by one, till the entire room was filled and every single seat was occupied. Shortly after the bell rung, Iruka Umino himself stepped into the classroom, carrying with him a folder containing the class's results. With a smile on his face, he placed them out on his desk and then turned to the class, standing before them in front of the blackboard.

"Morning class!" the young Chunin exclaimed, clearing his throat and adjusting his headband a little. "I'm pleased to announce that, upon checking and marking all your exams myself last night, I have determined from the results that all of you have passed with flying colors."

"Except for Naruto!" a smart-aleck classmate, obviously Kiba's voice from what Naruto could tell, called out. "Dead-last to the end, am I right?" This got quite a few laughs from the rest of the students, with Naruto furrowing his brow and glaring daggers at a group of them to his right, who immediately shut up at the sight of him. The way Naruto angled and projected his glare caused them to shake a little at the look in his eye.

"Actually, Kiba," Iruka said, rubbing his forehead with the back of his left hand. "Naruto, in spite of his efforts over the years that has given him only… excuse me, satisfactory marks, in the written exam, has passed it with full marks…"

There was a deathly silence, and Naruto grinned and glanced over at Shikamaru with a cocky look on his face. The Nara boy looked back at him and nodded, his expression easily showing his defeat.

"No way!"

"Not in this life-time!"

"How can the dead-last in the class get full marks?"

"He's a loser! A loser doesn't score that high!"

"Well, guess again kids," Iruka replied, sharing a small grin with Naruto and glancing up at the rows of students. "Apparently, Naruto has a lot of hidden potential in him. I expected a lot from him this year and, obviously, from this written exam, he surprised even me with his results. Geniuses aren't just descendents from great clans. All of you have to learn that with hard work and studying, you can achieve greater than even a well respected member of a genius family. Not to mention 'it is much more fun not training a genius', a quote I believed one of the Three Great Sannin used…"

He gave Naruto the thumbs up, who returned it before turning towards the rows behind him. Seeing all eyes on him, the spiky haired blonde flipped them all the finger, before turning around and reaffirming his attention on Iruka.

"My congratulations to you all," Iruka exclaimed, "You've all done very well. I am proud to call you my students." He then turned towards the board behind him, and pulled out a piece of chalk. "But the exams are not over yet. Now that the written exam has been completed, it is time to commence with the practical exam, and that means performing the basic techniques and skills that a ninja is required in the field in order to survive!"

Iruka wrote on the board: _**"Practical Exams: First Stage – Henge Jutsu"**_

Nodding, Iruka turned around and smiled. "If I have taught you well, and you all have practiced very hard, you should perform adequately. Now if you will all…"

Suddenly, the door flung open, and a familiar, pale-pink haired Chunin dashed in, panting slightly. "Oh… sorry I'm late, Iruka. I got held back by Asuma!"

The students watched as Mizuki joined Iruka at the front, and the two Chunin shook hands. "That's quite alright, Mizuki, we were just getting started…"

"Great!" The Chunin then leaned in, holding up a hand to Iruka's ear and whispered. "So… how is Naruto doing?"

"Fairly well actually, he passed with full marks on tactics, mathematics, literature, history and techniques," Iruka replied back, before stepping forward and facing the class. He just missed a rather surprised and annoyed look from his fellow Chunin, but he hid it away quickly so not to arise suspicion. However, this look was not missed by Naruto, who was at this moment glaring at the other sensei whom he did not take any liking towards.

"Okay class, now that Mizuki has joined us, it is time to commence with the First Stage. I would like you all to line up in front of me from left to right, and when I come up to each of you, I want you to perform a standard Henge Jutsu of me!" Iruka said, using his pen to draw out an invisible line in front of him.

Quickly, the students filed out of their rows and down to the front, lining up side-by-side at arms length from each other across the floor. A lot of them were still throwing disapproving looks at Naruto, especially Kiba, Ino and several other students. The boy ignored them, and took his place between Choji and Shikamaru. The Akimichi boy smiled at him and they both put their fists together as a sign of respect.

"Nice going there, Naruto!" Choji exclaimed.

"You too, Choji!" the young male replied.

"Okay, first up, Shino Aburame…" Iruka said to himself, starting at the end where the boy stood quietly with his hands in his pockets.

The Chunin went down the line to one student at a time, with Mizuki watching from the sidelines. Iruka watched as each student performed the technique, marking them for quality and correctness. He would often advise the students one after another to 'put the pouch on the right side' or 'trim the hair a little' or 'fix the scar up'. Other then a few of these, a lot of the students performed them perfectly, even Naruto when he was asked to perform it. He then even performed a reward technique at the end where he henged into a naked female with blonde hair and whiskers, knocking out both Iruka and Mizuki from blood loss, as well as several of the boys in the class, postponing the exam for a extra ten minutes as the fallen took some time to recover. Eventually, they were all back on their feet, and could continue.

Once the last of the students had performed the henge technique, Iruka then rubbed off of the board and wrote in: **"**_**Second Stage**_** – **_**Replacement Jutsu."**_

Iruka turned and grinned at his students. "Alright class, the next test is to see if you can all perform a standard Replacement Jutsu. As you know, this technique can be life saving in the heat of battle, and can also dub in an inanimate object to take your place when you are being attacked or want to avoid being attacked. So… remain as you are, and I will come around to each of you…"

And the process restarted, the students performing the replacement technique one at a time, grabbing whatever object was closest to them, and replacing their physical selves with that object. On a majority of the techniques, the students replaced themselves with sharpeners, staples, chairs; and even Sasuke replaced his body with Iruka's desk. Eventually, it came down to Naruto, and the boy stepped forward. Iruka nodded to him for the get-go, while a lot of the students watched with smug grins on their faces to see if the 'dead-last' could pull off another lucky one.

"Pft… what a joke," Ino muttered to Kiba. "No one can do better then Sasuke-kun! I bet you the loser will screw it up…"

"I'll bet ten ryu on that…" Kiba replied.

Naruto smirked, hearing the murmuring flow over the students, and slapped his hands together into a single hand-sign.

Somewhere along the line of students, a familiar purple-haired girl, who was twiddling her fingers together nervously, smiled as she watched her Naruto prepare to perform the technique.

'_Come on Naruto-kun… you can do it…'_ she thought.

Suddenly, Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke, just like every other student before him, and in his place stood an inanimate object. Well… if you could call it an object. Sitting, or rather, standing in Naruto's place, head down and an orange book flipped open in his hand, stared upwards a rather startled and befuddled Kakashi Hatake. As the smoke cleared, the students and teachers who had watched Naruto perform the technique looked on with rather shocked expressions as the Jonin blinked and looked around him.

"What the? This isn't my lounge room…"

It took him a while to figure out what had happened. When he did, he looked up in front of him and at Iruka.

"Darn, this is the third time this month…" he grumbled. Turning on his heel, the Jonin looked back down at his book and walked out of the classroom, reading to himself in audible mumbles. "Now let's see… Kyoshi takes the man's hand gently into hers, and says with powerful passion… 'make love to me baby, like there's no tomorrow…'" The door slammed shut as Kakashi departed, leaving a rather shocked class in his wake.

"He-he!" a voice exclaimed from above, causing everyone to look up to see Naruto sitting up in the railing above the classroom, grinning down at all of them. "I was actually aiming for his book, but I ended up grabbing him by accident!"

Iruka blinked and then smiled, whereas the students were just staring at him in disbelief, mouths agape.

"Well… it was impressive enough, Naruto. Come on down…" the Chunin exclaimed, and Naruto punctually joined the rest of his students on the ground.

Ino blinked as she watched Naruto file back into the line. "Wow… that was actually… pretty impressive…" Kiba, who was standing beside her, grumbled and crossed his arms, Akamaru whining a little at his master's displeasure.

"Speak for yourself…" the scruffy haired boy replied, looking away and gritting his teeth. _"Great, I can't believe that Naruto actually outdid me in both Stages… grrr… how did he get so good!"_

Once all the students had performed their replacement techniques, Iruka then moved into the third stage, asking all the students to step outside onto the training field. The dusty earth promised some action as the students lined up to stand just outside of a white line drawn to form a large rectangle with lengths of 100 X 50 meters. They watched as Iruka and Mizuki took up positions in front of the class side by side, with Iruka pulling out his clipboard and taking a couple of notes down, before looking back up at his students.

"Okay, now its time for us to commence the Third Stage of the Exam: Close Combat," Iruka stated, gesturing towards Mizuki next to him, "Each of you will take turns in fighting against Mizuki here. Now don't be put off because he's a Chunin, it's just to test how you'd fair if you are to encounter an enemy ninja who is stronger than you. In this part of the exam, you are to only use taijutsu or kenjutsu. The use of ninjutsu and doejutsu is prohibited, as well as the use of shuriken and kunai. Killing is also prohibited, and each match will end either in forfeit, time or if the combatant is knocked out cold or is unable to battle."

Mizuki nodded his head. "Alright… so who's going to be my first opponent?"

This was a question answered in order by name, as a student was called up alphabetically to fight against Mizuki. Everyone faired very well, save for those who lacked excessive taijutsu, but used the standard Academy forms anyway. Sasuke did exceptionally well, so did Kiba (as per expertise), and Choji and a few others. Some of them were a bit less confident, such as Hinata, and Sakura and Ino got in their fair fights. It was when it came around to Naruto the students were eager to see what the so-called 'dead-last' now nick-named the 'lucky-last' could cook up with this time.

Everyone watched in curiosity as Naruto took to the field and stood across from Mizuki, arms at his sides and a smile on his face. Mizuki took a stance and smiled at the boy.

"Come on Naruto, show me what you've got!" the Chunin exclaimed. "Do your best, okay…"

"Tsk… whatever," the boy replied, also taking a stance, right arm raised and his side slightly facing the Chunin, with his left arm held behind him.

"Alright then," said, holding up his hand, and dropping it down. "Begin…"

Mizuki smiled and charged at the boy, bumping up his strength, speed and skill level to a level he knew Naruto wouldn't be able to beat. He intended to have the boy fail miserably. Unfortunately, this was not to be the case.

Naruto, seeing the focus of Mizuki centered on him, smirked and straightened himself, dropping his right arm. When the Chunin came in with a jab, the boy, with surprising agility and lightness, spun on his axis and, catching the fist kicked out with his right foot at his attacker's feet, knocking him off balance, and tripping the man up as he stepped behind him with relative ease. Mizuki flipped forward and landed on his backside with a loud thud, causing some of the students to wince as the Chunin stared ahead of him in shock as Naruto stood behind him, smirking.

Ino blinked. "Hey, what just happened?"

"What was with that move?" Choji asked. "I've never seen Naruto move like that… ever…"

"That grapple was flawless," Shino whispered, catching Kiba's attention, who was standing right beside him. "His taijutsu performance so far has been relaxed and calm. His movements came out in flow… not hindrance at all…"

"Yeah but, I could barely see that. First Mizuki-sensei charged him, and then suddenly Naruto just moved around him, and then Mizuki is on the ground! How can he move that fast?" Shino asked.

"Hmm…" the bug user hummed to him, replaying the clip in his mind, studying the boy's movements.

"What the?" Mizuki looked behind him, seeing Naruto looking down at him with a smirk.

"You know, you'd better watch where you're going, sensei!" the blonde exclaimed with a grin. "You were careless, and you tripped over your own feet…"

Iruka raised an eyebrow and smiled, finding Naruto's comments, though teasing, quite appropriate for the moment. _'Although that last move was pretty good! Nicely played, Naruto…"_

Mizuki gritted his teeth and got back to his feet, dusting himself down before turning back to Naruto, his anger replaced with a kind smile, an obviously forced one. "Nice move, Naruto. But let's see you do that again!" The Chunin said, quickly taking a stance and lunching, throwing combinations of punches and kicks at the boy in quick succession, using combos that surprised a lot of the students at their speed and strength. Mizuki was obviously opening up with all he had.

Naruto, however, took it into stride. With his arms behind his back, he dodged, ducked and easily avoided all of Mizuki's attacks, moving with such grace and speed within such close proximity of his opponent that a lot of the academy students had to blink and rub their eyes to see if they weren't being deceived. The dead last of the group was actually fairing well against the Chunin, who was fighting through bared teeth as he attempted to hit his mark. However, Naruto easily moved around his attacks, and once again managed to get behind Mizuki.

The Chunin gasped and looked around behind him from left to right, trying to look for his opponent whom he had lost in his forward attacks. Naruto kept behind him, back to back and moving in perfect sync with the Chunin, keeping out of sight with a smirk on his face. So far, he hadn't even thrown a punch yet, and was conserving energy. It was when he jabbed his rear-end out, knocking Mizuki forward did that defensive mark change.

The students were in utter disbelief as Naruto easily evaded all of the Chunin's attacks, which were becoming more ferocious with each swing. Even Sasuke was in shock as he watched the blonde enter Mizuki's range before quickly exiting, throwing the Chunin off his game. Everyone, from Sakura, to Ino and to Shikamaru, was all the more surprised to hear Naruto laughing in enjoyment. He was literally dancing around his opponent.

"Olay!" Naruto exclaimed, rushing forward and striking Mizuki with an elbow, winding the Chunin before striking him in the back, causing him to stumble forwards.

Mizuki growled and spun back around, throwing another punch at Naruto, who suddenly phased out of sight, only to appear behind Mizuki, back-to-back again. The Chunin, fed up, spun around again and sent a knee up, only to have it blocked by another knee thrown by Naruto. They both separated, giving each other a certain distance before Mizuki charged again with a shout, with Naruto dropping into a stance this time.

The Chunin didn't gain the needed distance in time when Naruto suddenly leapt at him through the air. Throwing his left arm back and over his head, the boy flicked his wrist a little, a blade emerging from his sleeve with a loud 'slice' sound. Mizuki was running forwards when this occurred, and was unable to double-back in time when his small opponent suddenly landed on him front on, driving both his feet into Mizuki's chest, using his forward momentum to knock the Chunin falling back and, grabbing the side of his head with his right hand, then drove his left hand straight down for the pressure point at his neck.

When Mizuki fell flat on his back to the ground, with Naruto on top of him, it was revealed that the boy held back on that last attack, and was smirking down at the white-haired Chunin with utter seriousness etched into his expression. Iruka saw what had happened, and was rather befuddled that his best friend was beaten by an Academy student. The rest of the students were also in utter shock, staring at Naruto as if he had just grown a second head.

That may be the case however, as they were looking at a totally different and rather likable Naruto Uzumaki.

"Uzumaki Assassination Technique complete," Naruto exclaimed, raising his hand away from Mizuki and retracting his blade. "I win!"

Mizuki stared up at Naruto wide-eyed and dripping with sweat, absolutely shocked to realize that he was almost killed by the Kyuubi's host, the demon, the so called 'dead-last', an academy student! The first he felt was a grave numbness, before he was overcome by anger and annoyance. Naruto grinned at him one last time before back-flipping off of the Chunin, landing perfectly and soundlessly. Adjusting his jacket, the boy then turned away and walked back into the crowd of students, where he was congratulated by a still shocked Choji and Shikamaru, as well as a silent nod shared between him and Kiba.

"Not bad for a dead-last…"

"Not bad for an Underdog…"

They both grinned and turned back to Iruka, who was just checking the marks and keeping score.

Once everyone was done with the sparring, they were then led back inside by a very flustered Mizuki and a rather satisfied Iruka. He never expected this part to have gone so smoothly, and was expecting the last and final stage to go on just as well.

After all the students and senseis filed into the classroom, Iruka sat down at his desk and pulled up another chair for Mizuki, who sat down in it, a frown still etched out on his expression. Iruka ignored his blatant grumbling about being bested by a student, and just went on with sorting the marks. Double-checking everyone one, Iruka proceeded with the final stage, writing up onto the board: _**"Third/Final Stage – Clone Jutsu."**_

With a smile, he spun around, tossing the chalk away with disregard. "Alright class! It's time for the last part of the exam, and perhaps one of the easiest tests of the lot. You will be asked to perform a basic Clone Jutsu technique, the one we've been practicing for the entirety of the final term. I expect all of you to create an exact, solid duplicate of yourself with the Jutsu. So I'll ask each of you to come up front one by one, and perform it in front of the class…"

One by one he called each student up for the last time, asking each of them to perform a Clone Jutsu. Each of them performed basic ones, but those who possessed different abilities created clones based on them, such as Shino, who created a bug clone, and Ami, who created an earth clone. Regardless, every student performed well, including Naruto, who had yet another interesting show to display. When he was called up, he placed his hands together in a different hand-sign compared to the other students. Iruka was about to correct him, but Naruto's Jutsu was already active.

"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto exclaimed.

In a series of blinding puffs of smoke that filled up the entire classroom, the students and the Jutsu user himself were joined by at least a hundred more Narutos. They took up all the remaining space in the classroom, basically suffocating everyone with the amount of clones there were. All the Narutos shouted at each other and pushed each other aside for more room, befuddling an already perplexed class and a rather shocked Iruka to see the number of clones the boy had managed to create.

The real Naruto gave Iruka the thumbs up, but was distracted from a grin when several of his clones bumped into him. Grumbling, Naruto shoved back, only to start a fight between them. Iruka watched as the five Narutos out of the hundred brawled, and so did the other students, who crowded in their seats to try and get a better look.

"Hey! Get off of me!"

"Quit pushing!"

"Stop touching me!"

"Get away from me, Naruto!"

"Hey! What did I do!"

"No not you! Him!"

"Me!

"Yes?"

"No not you, him!"

"But I'm him!"

"And you're me, okay I get it! Shove off already!"

"That's it, buddy!"

The fighting and loud arguments continued, which quickly added more to Mizuki's already pounding headache and Iruka's thinned out patience. It was only when the brown haired Chunin got a little fed-up with the fight that he broke it up.

"Alright Naruto, excellent work with the Jutsu, but you're going to have to work out your little tussle with your clones another time," the scar-faced ninja exclaimed, pushing a couple of the Narutos away and helping the real one up. He smiled at the bruised up one and nodded to him. "But great job though, you passed…"

"Ah! Really?!" Naruto exclaimed, quickly getting to his feet. "Awesome! Thanks Iruka-sensei!"

"Not to worries…"

The real Naruto dispelled all his clones and, giving Iruka a complete thumbs-up, headed back to his seat to join the other students, most of them still astounded by the amount of Narutos there had been. By this time, a lot of those students who had belittled Naruto and called him a 'dead last' were now either seriously rethinking their opinions on him, or had set aside their claims of him being a loser.

Iruka smiled as he saw Naruto get congratulations from a couple of the other students sitting around him.

Perhaps this was turning into a great day after all…

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	3. Finishing Personal Business

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Finishing Personal Business_

_**Later that afternoon…**_

_**Ichiraku's Ramen Bar…**_

Naruto was once again downing his third bowl of ramen at his favorite stand in the village, enjoying its delectability while in the company of his sensei, Iruka, who had joined him on his celebrative visit to the most likely place you would find the blonde, and was also enjoying a bowl of his own. Naruto said that he would pay for all their bowls, saying that it was definitely his day of the week, the highlight of his entire life so far.

"Boy this is great!" Naruto exclaimed, pulling his head back and swallowing the broth in one gulp. Slapping it down with his chopsticks and spoon, let out a warm sigh, his breath laced with the scent of ramen. The young male then grinned up at Iruka. "I'm finally a Genin!"

"You sure are, Naruto," Iruka exclaimed, taking some noodles and popping them in his mouth. He slurped it up quickly, chewed and swallowed, then nodded to the boy with pride in his eyes. "I've never been happier to call you my student. Of course, I've always been proud to call you my student…"

Naruto received another serving of ramen from Ayame, who smiled happily at him and nodded. "Congratulations, Naruto-kun!"

"Thanks Ayame-chan!" Naruto replied, once again gorging himself on more of the delicious noodle soup. Iruka patted Naruto on the back, giving him all of the praises he deserved, while Ayame and her father smiled at him from the sidelines.

"You know, now that you're a Genin and all… things are going to be a lot different from now on," Iruka stated.

"Oh yeah!" Naruto looked up at the scarred Chunin. "Like what?"

"Well… for starters, I'm no longer going to be your teacher. You'll soon have a new teacher to boss you around and be your guide…"

"Hmm…I guess I can deal with that. Although," Naruto smiled up at him. "I'll always call you sensei!"

"Heh…" Iruka replied with a grin, glancing down at his bowl and mixing the broth a little. "You'll be on a team with two other of your fellow classmates, and be led by a Jonin, who you will call your sensei. On this new team, you will have work as a team, to train together, work together, fight together, and get along with each other. On this team, you will undertake missions…"

"It will be my bread and butter, Iruka-sensei, I know," the newly made Genin looked upwards ahead of him, smiling all the while. "I'm familiar with how the ninja system works. After all, I was taught by a number of great teachers… including you…"

Iruka looked at the boy again when he said this, blinking in surprise. He then smiled, his eyes shimmering in the honor of being called a great teacher by perhaps the lowliest of all of his students. The man punched him lightly in the shoulder. "So… I'm the best, eh? Who else have you had as your sensei besides me?"

"Well, there was Ero-Sennin… he taught me a couple of cool techniques, and taught me a lot about the world outside. There was also Baa-chan… although she was drunk most of the time. Still, she had a lot of interesting things to say," Naruto said with a shrug. "Anko-sensei was a great teacher too, in spite of her 'unique' training methods and wake up calls, like sneaking snakes into my bed and forcing me onto the ANBU Shuriken Range to collect kunai and other weapons while it was still in use. But… she was very kind to me… like you… and she felt the same way as me… alone, an outcast… a failure. But then, I've had a lot of other experiences with this kind of thing…"

His teacher's smile fell when he said the last bits, and Iruka turned away with a quick intake and exhale of breath. Focusing his attention back on his ramen, the Chunin went on to eat along with the boy for another minute more, before reestablishing conversation standards.

"You'll have a chance to make friends… you'll no longer be alone…"

"It seems for the best anyway…" Naruto replied in a shallow voice. "I've always been alone, rejected, tossed away… etc. Konoha despises me more than Madara Uchiha. You can thank the village elders for encouraging support of the villagers' hatred of me…"

Iruka smirked. "Tsk… well, I doubt they will be a problem now…"

"Huh? Why's that?" Naruto asked, looking up at his sensei through cold, unrestrained eyes, indicating he had removed his mask of happiness.

"Well, due to a sudden and unexpected misfortune, the estate they were staying at was hit by a avalanche of rubble. The whole cliff-side the estate was built into caved in on them last night," Iruka stated.

Teuchi, who was listening in nodded his head, turning away from his pot of boiling broth to look at the pair. "Yeah, and I heard a lot of their guards were caught up in it as well… poor fellas…"

"You can say that again," Iruka said, shaking his head. "Too bad they had to be there that night…"

"Hmm… too bad they got caught up in the wake of that avalanche, you mean," Naruto added absentmindedly without a hint of emotion, looking back at his ramen and taking his cup of green tea into his hands. Blowing on it, he then took a sip. "They all had it coming…"

Iruka looked down at the boy startled, even Teuchi and Ayame looked at the boy in shock at the way he said it. "Naruto! How can you say that?"

"Easy… I hold no regrets or sympathy, and speak my mind without the need for such petty withholdings. After all… we're talking about three pro-war politicians, who have caused nothing but trouble for this village…"

Iruka glared at him, while Teuchi and Ayame just watched. "Naruto! That's treason against the village to talk like that! Danzo and the village elders cared for nothing more than this village's wellbeing! They protected it with their lives!"

"You think so, huh?" Naruto replied in monotone, looking up at Iruka with his stoic, unmasked face. The look surprised the Chunin greatly, and he eased away at the look of discoloration and death he could see in his eyes. "Does that include trying to overthrow the Hokage many times before, as a lot of the rumors around the village have suggested. Danzo went against Old-Man Third many times before, not only recruiting enemies of our village to help overthrow him, but also encouraging revolts within our own nation and using other conflicts to help gain power. He, and the elders, also used the excuse of the 'demon spawn' to encourage hatred towards me and to try and kill me, as well as to enforce their campaign against the Hokage for his seat and retirement?"

Iruka remained silent for a moment, giving Naruto a considerate stare, and to try and find an argument behind his statements. However, as it turned out, he couldn't find any. Naruto 'hmphed', and turned back to his ramen. "That's what I thought. Good riddance to bad apples…"

"How do you know so much about this?" Iruka asked, returning to a normal seated position. "About them… and what they've done?"

"That's a rather empty question, it's already been answered," Naruto replied coldly. "They've practically told everyone to stay away from me, and I tried to find out who was the cause for the villager's deep hatred and loathing of me. The elders intended to turn me into a weapon of Konoha by isolating me and enraging me, to not only become strong enough to be a threat against others, but to turn people's nightmares into a reality. They wanted to show them what kind of _demon_ I was!" Naruto spat to the side in disgust. "It's rather ironic, wouldn't you say?"

Ayame looked at Naruto with sadness leaning over a bit and laying a hand on his spiky hair. The boy felt her gentle grasp and moved into it, getting all the warmth he could from this gesture of sympathy. Teuchi just stood back, looking on, as well as Iruka.

"I learnt to live alone that's for sure," Naruto said coldly. "I scavenged off the streets, dealt with bullies and lived in the alleys. It was hell. My only way of reprisal was pulling pranks to get people's attention, while at the same time keeping in the dark whenever those who intended to hurt me hunted me down…"

Iruka looked up at Ayame and Teuchi, who looked at him in silence, before they all looked back at Naruto and neared him to comfort him. Ayame's hand on his shoulder was soon joined by Iruka's, who patted Naruto on the back as he cried dry tears under the shadows of his lowered head.

"Things will change, Naruto-kun," Ayame spoke. "You don't have to beat yourself up anymore…"

"Just be strong…" Iruka said.

Naruto looked up at them, his dull blue eyes gaining a bit of light as he met the smile of those closest to him. These three, Ayame, Teuchi and Iruka, were some of the only people he could truly trust, and no one else.

The by looked upon them with silence and lack of any emotion, before his thoughts and feelings gathered and he smiled up at them in return.

"Thank you…"

He moved his knuckles up and rubbed it against his head-band plate, the forehead protector gleaming in the light of the store. Naruto grinned happily at them.

"_I will protect all of them to preserve their happiness, even if it costs me my life…"_

* * *

_**That night…**_

"S-Stay away from me!" a terrified cry sounded over the forests, as one white-haired and pale-faced Mizuki retreat through the trees. Leaping from branch to branch, he attempted to cover a greater distance at a faster pace to escape the assassin pursuing him.

Looking back, he could see the masked culprit chasing him. Dressed in a black trench-coat with a hood, and wearing a red and white mask of unidentifiable origins or identity, he pursued the Chunin without restraint. This caused the Chunin to grit his teeth in fear and increase his speed.

Reaching into his pouch, the Chun spun around briefly, and with a good arm, threw five or so balls wrapped in sealed paper. Upon impact of a tree branch he had just passed by, the balls exploded into clouds of blinding flashes and smoke, blinding the pursuer. Mizuki, hoping this would hold him off, continued with all due haste through the trees. He directed his attention towards the outer wall of Konohagakure, intent on making it to the nearest entrance and escape.

Wrapped around him, Mizuki was all set and read to leave. He carried a small back-pack with enough supplies to last him a week's journey, and on top of that a pair of Windmill Shuriken for defensive purposes. He also carried a large scroll at his side, strapped to him by a belt. It was a forbidden scroll he had managed to pinch from the Hokage's office; one of a large collection he knew held untold secrets that would be useful to him.

"_I don't need this!"_ he yelled in his head. "I don't need this stinking village! Konohagakure has been nothing but trouble for me! I've had it! Once I get out of here, I'm going to... huh?!"

He stopped on the branch he was one and looked up, eyes widening as he saw the assassin in the black cloak glaring down at him from a branch above. His coat blew in the wind, and he barely moved as the tree creaked slightly. Mizuki stepped back, horrified.

"What! How the hell did he get in front of me?" Mizuki shouted.

The assassin stepped forward, throwing his arms forward and spreading them out a little, extending his fingers and flicking his wrists, a set of kunai appearing between the fingers in both hands. The kunai appeared with simultaneous 'zip' sounds, their blades flashing and the seals on their handles giving them identification.

'_I blinded him with smoke and flash pellets! How can he still be chasing me?'_

The assassin crossed his arms over his face, continuing to glare the man down through the slits in his mask. Mizuki gritted his teeth and reached onto his back, slapping a tag onto one of his massive Windmill Shurikens and gripping its throwing ring.

"Fine!" he growled. "You want to play? Take this!!!" With a roar of anger, the man stepped forward and threw the shuriken from his back, the blade spinning rapidly through the air, chopping through the wind loudly as it shot at its target.

The assassin side-stepped slightly on the branch, throwing one of his readied knives at Mizuki, who moved his head away just barely in time, still grinning confidently. At the same time, the giant Shuriken thrown at the assassin, struck the branch just inches away from him, slicing straight through it, and causing a chain reaction. As the branch began to fall, the seal on the Shuriken flashed once, before suddenly going off in a massive explosion. The blast caught the assassin inside of its fiery radius, and took a chunk out of the tree it detonated close to.

Mizuki watched in awe as the explosion consumed the assassin and grinned, holding up a clenched fist. "Ha! Gone down in flames! It's a fitting end for a demon!"

His laughing was cut short thought when he felt something cold and made of steel press up against the side of his neck, and he froze. Eyes wide and suddenly, with sweat dripping down his face, he glanced behind him slightly in fear. Through his peripherals, he saw in a mix of shock and terror, the masked shinobi that had been pursuing him, standing right behind him.

"I-Impossible…" Mizuki growled. "I-I saw you die! You couldn't have escaped that blast in time! You were moving too slow!"

It was after glaring at the unmoving and stoic assassin for a few seconds longer, did Mizuki eventually see how the masked attacker had done it. His eyes widened in shock when he saw the markings on the kunai the assassin held in his hand. Though they were a bit fuzzy in memory, there was no mistaking it. He recognized it from the markings of the kunai he saw in the Hokage's Office in the Sealed Cabinet, only with a couple more seals added onto it that differed it from that particular weapon. But he recognized the others…

"No way… that's…" He looked up into the slits of the mask, and even though the mask obscured the face completely, through the eye-slots, Mizuki could see the shimmering of bright blue eyes, and the way they were glaring at him unheeded. Mizuki gulped and turned around, sweating profoundly at this point.

"Heh… I never thought this day would ever come… where I would be beaten by the reincarnation of Konoha's Yellow Flash…" He closed his eyes. "What a way to go out…"

* * *

In the Hokage's office, Sarutobi was standing by the center window that sat right behind his desk. From here, he could be seen looking out over the village of Konohagakure, hands behind his back and his pipe in his mouth. Although, at most times there would be a smile of pride gracing his lips as he stared over the rooftops of the village, but at this moment, there was a frown of fatigue and discourage etched on his lips, as he stood there gazing at the night sky.

Not too long ago, he was informed that the Forbidden Scroll of the 4th had been stolen from his office, and shushined into the night. All the Chunin and Jonin available had been alerted of this, and were dispatched into the streets of Konoha and all around it in search of the scroll and the perpetrator responsible. The village was on high alert, now in search of a thief and possible traitor.

For half-an-hour the search had been in progress, and the Hokage was beginning to worry for the worst. It was until he heard a silent clatter behind him and, without turning around, closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

"So the perpetrator has been dealt with, I presume?" the Third asked, sensing the mysterious presence behind him joining the noise. He turned around slightly, looking out of the corner of his eyes to see a masked, short figure wearing black propping the scroll against the desk placidly, and look up at the Hokage silently. Sarutobi hummed satisfactorily to himself before turning back towards the window. "Thank you, very much…"

The short figure bowed slightly and turned, ready to exit out the window and out of the office before any of the Chunin show up. However, before he could leave, the Hokage spoke up again, this time with a smile on his face.

"It wasn't your first taste of delivering justice at night, now was it Naruto?"

The figure stopped immediately in his place, though maintained his position of movement on the window-sill. Sarutobi turned to him, still smiling and breathing on his pipe. Though, neither of them moved from there.

"You think I wouldn't know?"

The assassin sighed, but didn't move, as he replied. "Nothing escapes your wise, old eyes, Oji-san. Guess I should try harder to make it so…" the boy assassin replied in an exhausted, monotone voice.

"But you can't always deal justice this way, Naruto," the Hokage spoke up again, this time a bit more seriously. "You're still young; you've got your whole life ahead of you. Don't do stuff that will get you into trouble, and possibly get you killed if you're not careful. Tread carefully, and if there are any more problems, just ask for help from friends, or even me… and I'll try to resolve them…"

"I know…" Naruto replied, looking over his shoulder. "But as strange as it seems, I like it this way…"

"A lot of people feel the same way sometimes, and wish they could do what you can do," Sarutobi stated. "But try talking about it instead; use your voice to resolve conflicts instead of violence. 'Words can be even sharper than kunai.' You of all people know that better than anyone else…"

"But my justice isn't just for the betterment of myself," the boy continued. "It's for the well-being and preservation of all of Konoha. Even though nobody knows it's me, I will do it just so that the people can live on, and perhaps realize something through these acts. But then again, if it's to protect them, then I'm willing to lay down my life for them. For you, for Iruka-sensei, for Ayame and Teuchi, for Ero-Sennin… even for those who hate me…"

Sarutobi's smile grew back into focus at this. "Spoken like a true Hokage," the old man exclaimed quietly. "You're a lot like your father and mother…"

"Heh… so Ero-Sennin says…"

There was silence for the next minute, until the Third spoke again, removing the pipe from his mouth and breathing out deeply.

"You've earned yourself a lot of credit for returning the scroll to me, Naruto," the Hokage stated. "But, even though your actions last night were justly and I'm sure a lot of people would praise you for it, you still killed three Konoha elders and officials, and killed over a dozen of our Village's Ninja…"

"_ROOT_ and the officials were corrupt. Present this in a case with their history of service and direction of allegiance, and I'm sure that'd pass in our court," Naruto replied. "Just cover it up. I doubt anyone would miss them…"

"I was going to deal with Danzo anyway, and perhaps put the other elders in their places for all their treatment of you, and charge them for insubordination in other shinobi matters," the Hokage stated, smiling slightly. "But I guess it doesn't matter anymore. Just… be careful from now on Naruto, and take care…"

His words fell on ears, but Naruto had left the moment he finished. Sarutobi just shrugged it off, knowing that this was the boy's way of showing he understood.

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	4. Unexpected Occurrences

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Unexpected Occurrences_

_**Early the next morning…**_

Naruto was briskly training in a clearing outside of the residential area, throwing various combinations of punches and kicks, and shifting through his taijutsu forms. He had used this field many times before, and would use them again if he had to, to continue to train and get stronger, but for now, he was just using this time to blow off a little steam. The young boy growled as he gave it is all, and put effort into making all his stances and attack correct.

"_Thrust, knee, jab-punch! Hook, elbow, elbow, return! Low kick, spin, low kick! Upper kick! Don't lean in, you're off balance! Kick! Kick, downward elbow! Punch! Punch! Hook, uppercut, uppercut, jab!" _Naruto thought vigorously, his breaths coming out in long, controlled breaths. He shifted through another style of taijutsu, his punches and kicks becoming more vigorous.

"Come on!" Naruto growled; sweat pouring from his face as he fought again the weights with enhanced gravity seals straining down on his body. It restricted him, made him work, and that's how he liked it! "I will… not… give up!" he shouted, punching vigorously, causing sweat to fly off of his arm. Wearing nothing but his pants and his head-band meant that people could literally see the sweat running down his body, as well as several recently healed, deep scars in his body, showing just how far the boy had gotten in fights and training… not to mention personal vendettas.

"Flip!" he shouted, kicking off the ground band back-flipping through the air, opening up and sending round-house and spin kicks in mid-air, creating loud whooshing sounds as his feet cut through the air. He landed solidly, continuing his combos as his fighting became more diverse and erratic.

He then leapt into the air once again, flipping several times while curled up into a ball, before opening up and coming down with a right, downward kick! "Uzumaki Spinning Axe Kick!" Naruto shouted, his heel connecting with the ground. Due to the extra chakra he had pumped into it, the kick had more of an effect than first thought. The moment his attack connected, the ground slit and began to crack, before caving in on itself and collapsing across the clearing for about fifteen meters in every direction. The dust rose and settled, leaving Naruto still standing in that position of execution and contact.

Panting from three hours of workout on just plain physical enduring taijutsu, the boy nodded his head and wiped his face off of sweat, before reassuming a proper standing position, and calling it quits. Knowing he had Academy to attend in an hour or so, Naruto walked over to the nearby tree he had deposited his clothes, and slipped them on. Leaving his black, fur collared jacket unzipped, exposing his chiseled stomach fresh from workout, and putting the large scroll he carried back around him; he then headed off on his merry way.

While Naruto was walking through the quiet streets of his neighborhood, he sudden sensed a familiar presence nearby, but continued walked. He knew this routine, and it was getting quite tiresome having to fight for his life at this point. Closing his eyes, he shook his head with a smile when he heard the familiar hissing sound approaching his sharpened ears.

As he continued walking on, his back was turned to the sight of five large snakes, all of them pythons, following him close behind, keeping to the shadows.

Naruto, sensing the presence close in on him, flicked the wrist on his right, his hidden blade emerging with a loud 'slice'.

Too late! The instant his assassin's blade appeared, the snakes shot at him, and in a blink of an eye, wrapped around him about a dozen times, before beginning to constrict the air out of him. The boy staggered, but could not move, his lungs emptying of all air as he felt the pressure of the snakes apply on him. Inch upon inch of thick, pure muscle squeezed down on him. His bones creaked, and his blood-stream clogged at the feeling of this incredible pressure. The boy glanced around, trying to find his opponent.

Picking up something out of the corner of his senses, the boy visibly grinned before suddenly vanishing in a puff of white smoke.

The woman that had attacked him gasped from her hiding place. _"Rats! A Shadow Clone?"_

She suddenly picked up the sound of shuriken and spun around, before quickly back-flipping out of the alleyway. Where she once stood, now four shuriken landed impaled in the soft soil. The woman growled as she back-flipped away, avoiding more and more shuriken falling from the sky and landing in places where she once stood, before stopping, dropped in a fighting stance and skidding to a halt from her built up momentum.

She glared up, just in time to see the single figure of the boy flying down at her from above. He cranked back his right arm, his blade once again appearing with a loud slicing sound, to which she became alert too, and grinned. Throwing her left arm forward, she shouted…

"Ninja Art: Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!" She threw her left arm forward, and four snakes suddenly shot out of her arm, stretching to an amazing distance and striking Naruto at all four crucial points in his limbs, sending him flying and straight into the side of a nearby building, where he became pinned. Anko had managed to hit him just as he was two meters away from her…

…which was a really close call for the Snake Mistress!

At least this meant they could continue!

Anko grinned and, clenching her outstretched fist from its straightened fingers, the woman concentrated her chakra and yelled from where she crouched.

"Ninja Art: Shadow Python Restriction!"

Suddenly, a python shot out of the ground right next to where Naruto was pinned, and immediately began to coil around him, smashing in and out of the wall and wrapping the boy against it. The blonde growled in pain as he felt the snakes do their job of holding him down and glared at his grinning opponent, who licked her lips at the sight.

"My-my! I love it when my opponents play hard to get," she said in a rather suggestive voice.

Naruto gritted his teeth briefly for a moment, a trickle of blood escaping the corner of his mouth, before a grin spread across his lips. He vanished once again in a puff of smoke, causing Anko to blink in surprise.

"Hm…" she smirked, looking down at the ground where she suddenly saw it crack. She detached her snake extensions from her arm and with the same one, raised her fist upwards, and directed it down towards the earth. "Nice try, kid!"

Unexpectedly, the ground behind her exploded in a shower of earth, debris and dust, and another Naruto emerged. The woman looked behind her in shock at the grinning boy, and suddenly the ground in front of her exploded as a foot shot up at her. It collided with the block she raised, but it sent her upwards into the air at the power behind it. She was then kicked in the back by the Naruto behind her, causing her to fall forwards and get hit a second time by a Third Naruto that appeared in front of her, using the foot sticking out of the ground as extra leverage, and sent a knee up into her face, that sent her airborne.

"Uzumaki Rising Wind Technique!" Naruto shouted, a forth clone jumping out from behind the one behind the Naruto behind Anko, and pushing off of his counterpart's back, leapt high into the air above Anko. The woman saw through squinted eyes and a blurred vision from a bruise suffered from the knee, the clone spin through the air above her before coming down at her with a downward kick. "Uzumaki Spinning Axe Kick!"

Anko smirked. "Child's play…"

The blow connected with her forehead, and just as Anko's body began its dangerous descent, suddenly dematerialized to mud and clay, which Naruto found his leg now wrapped in. He growled in frustration as he and the mud hit the ground, the clones parting to make way for the supposed 'body' of the target to hit the ground.

"Darn it!" Naruto growled, trying to pull his leg free from the mud. The mud, then, in an unexpected twist, suddenly morphed into a nest of snakes. The mass of them then wrapped around Naruto's leg fully, and began to overtake the boy they caught from head to toe. Naruto growled as he tried to free himself, but found it impossible.

"Ninja Art: Hidden Snake Nest Imprisonment," Anko exclaimed from the rooftop above, as she watched her snakes began to overcome the four clones. She watched with a grin as the shouting and struggling clones fought against the hundreds of snakes, but to no avail. "Not bad brat, but I suggest more training with me to hone those sloppy skills they sabotaged for you at the Academy…"

"You can thank Mizuki for that," Naruto stated, sitting on the ledge of the roof right next to Anko as they watched the rather daunting show below. The clones fought off against the mass of snakes, one of them suddenly becoming overcame by snakebites, and soon dispersing from the amount of venom injected. The blonde smirked as he glanced at her. "But he's not going to be a problem anymore…"

"So I've heard," Anko said through a grin, rounding on the boy with pride shining in her eyes. "I'm proud of you, Gaki. You've finally taken matters into your own hands!"

"Haven't I always?" Naruto replied, looking out over the rooftops from their position on the building. The two of them relaxed back, putting their hands behind their heads and letting out sighs of content. "I need to train more to reach your level, Anko-sensei. I haven't yet reached your level of expertise…"

"Yet you were not only able to overcome a number of _ROOTS_ best guards, but also kill Danzo in a head-to-head battle and a fully-fledged Chunin stronger than even Iruka…" Anko pointed out.

"But on those occasions, I not only carefully analyzed my situation and point of attack, but also calculated the best possible means of execution," Naruto continued, watching as the clouds overhead drifted by, the fight several stories below now over. "Danzo was easy, because not only did I know how to fight a Sharingan, as well as him having his whole right side of his body damaged, I also got a little lucky. I had the opportunity to use my kunai gauntlet, which he had never faced before," the boy stated, holding up his left arm and rattling it. "Mizuki was easy though… a Chunin who puts to much focus into his point of attack and distracted by his opponent, is more than likely to fall for deception… like you said…"

"What? I never said that," Anko looked at the boy. "I said hard work and hard work can make you into a man! You must have picked that up from Jiraiya…"

Naruto chuckled. "Yeah, I guess Ero-Sennin did mention something like that when he was teaching me about Genjutsu…"

"And yet, once again, you weren't listening to him…"

"Partially. He really knows how to drawl on. I like it quick and simple, much like Iruka-sensei!"

"And what about me, Gaki?" Anko asked, causing Naruto to look at her. She made a cute pout and batted her eyelashes at him. "What about your o' so lovable Anko-chan: the shine of all of your sexual fantasies and adventures?"

Naruto blinked at her, taken aback with a rather horrified expression on his face. "Please… don't ever do that again?"

"What? This?" Anko asked, once again performing a cute pout…

"YES! THAT!"

"Alright, alright," Anko exclaimed, looking back towards the sky. "Don't get those white boxers with the orange and pink foxes on them into a knot…yeesh…"

Naruto blushed at the reference towards his undergarments and cleared his throat, staring back up at the sky with sweat drops falling from his forehead. "Sometimes I worry abut how much you're spying on me…"

"Can you blame me? It's the way I work! I was waiting for the perfect time to strike…stalking my prey, watching its every move from the shadows, and waiting for its attention to slip-up! That's my style!" Anko exclaimed, pinching him in the arm.

"OW!"

The two of them spent the next half-an-hour and more talking, sharing a packet of dango Anko had gotten earlier onwards, and telling each other stories. They acted as though they were the best of friends, which they were, and Naruto, out of the majority of his dark and depressing life, found that he was enjoying himself. Anko too, who felt she could share anything with the young, newly appointed Genin of Konohagakure. Speaking their mind, sharing each other's experiences, as well as being one with the same personality strands, meant that they could have fun together.

Soon enough, they both had to go their separate ways, and while Naruto departed over his usual route across the rooftops, Anko slipped into the shadows and vanished in a puff of smoke, heading towards the Hokage's tower.

Naruto arrived at the academy not too long afterwards, stopping by the Nagasaki's Dumpling Bar to pick up a box of dango and pork buns to eat while walking. He pocketed the rest of it in its container as he entered the classroom, where he was met with the sight of the usual early-birds, including one Shikamaru Nara, who only got up this early so he could get to school and sleep in class and not worry about anything else. Naruto shook his head and took his seat, letting his face fall slightly as he rested in his usual place.

"_Sigh… another day, another day alone at the academy… nothing else needs to be said,"_ he thought.

Feeling picky, he decided to pull out the packet of dango again and, letting it simmer on the desk in front of him, began gorging on the sweet delights one ball and bun at a time, savoring the tastes so to pass the time. He got so indulged in his breakfast that he failed to notice Choji sneak by, and grab one of the buns on his way, to which Naruto glared up at him for. But the way the blonde's cheeks were puffed up for already having food in his mouth made it difficult to take him seriously.

"Choji… please and thank you?"

"Oh! Sorry Naruto!" Choji exclaimed, putting it back and looking back at him. "Naruto, may I please have one of your delicious pork buns?" Naruto smiled and nodded.

"Sure thing Choji…" he exclaimed, watching Choji pick up the bun and walk off, giving Naruto the thumbs-up.

"Delicious," the Akimichi mumbled through a full mouth. Naruto returned the thumbs up, and went back to his meal.

Naruto quietly continued his meal, as one after another, students filed into the classroom. It was while he was busy saucing up one of the last of his dango sticks, did he sense a surprising presence sit down beside him. He looked to his right, and sitting beside him was none other than the famed Sasuke Uchiha. The raven haired boy took a seat without any hesitation next to the blonde, and then sat quietly staring ahead of him with his fingers laced together.

The blonde Genin just stared at the boy from where he sat; dango stick in hand and dripping with delectable sauce. Neither of them moved or engaged one another in conversation, and Sasuke just sat there. Naruto scrunched his face up in confusion, before looking back at his food and taking a bite from his dango, chomping the dumpling and swallowing it, before glancing at the Uchiha.

It was then, Sasuke glanced over at the blonde, and nodded to him. "Hey…"

"Hey," Naruto said, completely weirded out at this point. He edged away a bit. "Uhh… what's the deal?"

"What?"

"Why are you sitting here?" Naruto asked, looking around at all the other empty seats. "There are plenty of other spare seats available? Why sit here?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Does it matter?"

Naruto frowned. "Guess not," and returned to his dango and buns. Sasuke caught whiff of the sauces and the steam, and took a longer glance at the breakfast Naruto was having. After a few minutes of watching Naruto finish his dango, the Uchiha leaned over a bit and pointed out the last dango stick.

"Uhh… could I try that?"

Naruto nearly fell off of his seat when he heard this and looked at the boy. "Eh? What was that?"

"Could I try that last dango, please?" Sasuke asked more politely.

Okay, now either Naruto was tripping, or he could swear Sasuke was asking him for something. Neither of them had ever spoken before, and he knew the Uchiha to be highly arrogant, as well as being a high, mighty emo-loner. But to have the famed Sasuke Uchiha of Iruka-sensei's class actually associating with him in this way, as well as sitting next to him, was a huge step that Naruto wasn't at all prepared for. Shocked, the blonde grabbed the last stick and handed it to him, to which Sasuke sniffed it, before taking a bite out of one of the dumplings. Naruto watched through shock and awe as Sasuke swallowed, and smiled an actual, genuine smile.

"Hmm… that's good," he exclaimed quietly, before continuing to eat.

"Okay, I am totally freaking out right now," Naruto said, backing away in his seat a little.

"Why?" Sasuke asked, while chewing on the dango dumpling.

"Sasuke… is something wrong with you?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow. "After five years of being in the same class together and we've never spoken, and all of a sudden you've managed to hold a few brief words with me for the last five minutes!"

"So…?"

"So? SO! You're starting to scare me!" Naruto replied. "Are you coming onto me?"

Sasuke choked on his dango, coughing and slamming his fist into his chest when a piece of dango clogged his breathing canal. He managed to dislodge it, and looked at Naruto with wide eyes.

"What?"

"Because I'll know if you are!"

The Uchiha gritted his teeth and turned back to his dango, completing shrugging the statement off after the initial shock. "Dobe!"

"Heh… that's better," Naruto replied, moving on to finish the last bun. "I still think you're gay though…"

"And I still think you're an idiot…"

The two of them turned to each other and smirked, but then turned back to finish their food.

It wasn't too long though till the pair of them was joined by a couple more faces. Just as Naruto was getting used to the quietness of his surroundings, he suddenly spotted a pink-haired girl and a blonde-haired girl standing right beside him, and looked up. He had to restrain himself from blushing when he saw one Sakura Haruno glaring down at him, and her friend Ino Yamanaka accompanying her.

Sakura Haruno, the complete adoration and love of his life. She was simply a vision of beauty, baring a smile beyond compare and eyes that shone like emeralds. The girl was a magnificent specimen, any man would say that, and he adored and prolonged the very sight o her for as long as possible. However, thanks to his past memories of pain, suffering, insecurity and rejection, he always hid his blushes and emotions of any indication of affection towards her, under a second mask. He could not bear the thought of being rejected by her… again…

Then there was her friend Ino. She was just as much of a flower as Sakura was, and like Shikamaru and Choji, he had known the pair for a long time, ever since he met them when he was younger. But some strange twist in time broke them a part, and Naruto rarely spoke to them again. He just continued to admire them from the shadows, hidden and safe, and where he felt the most serenity in the world. But whenever they brought the light over to him, he felt different.

He felt happier…

He smiled up at the pair, trying to suppress the blush of admiration.

"Hey there, Sakura-chan! Ino-chan! What's up?" he asked. Ino, gathering up common courtesy and not wanting to make a scene smiled and waved at the young male.

"Hey there, Naruto!" she replied. "Not much…"

Sakura smiled at Naruto too and waved. "Everything's great too… it's just…"

"Oh, right," the boy said, looking back down at his empty food carton and sighed. "Sasuke…" he stood up and smiled towards the two girls again. "You can have this seat; I'll take my food somewhere else…"

"Uhh… okay," Sakura replied, blinking.

"Shove over, forehead! He was offering it to me!" Ino stated, doing a complete 180 in her attitude and pushed Sakura aside. However, the pink haired kunoichi wasn't going to give up without a fight, and shoved back, both of them blocking Naruto's only way of exit, and leaving him to watch the fight unfold in front of him.

"No! I'm sitting here, Ino-pig! Naruto was offering it to me!"

"Well! I'm not going to let you steal Sasuke-kun away from me! Move!"

"No! You get lost! I'm going to sit next to Sasuke-kun!"

"Like hell you are!"

"Take a hike, pig! You could use the exercise!"

"Forehead!"

"Pig!"

"Billboard Brow!"

"Swine!"

"Uhh…" Naruto looked back down at Sasuke to see his reaction. The Uchiha just shrugged at him and went on to staring ahead of him. The blonde sighed and placed his empty, sauce-filled dumpling container back onto his desk and looked back at the girls, holding up both of his hands and grinned sheepishly at the two fighting girls, who were now wrestling each other for the seat. "Umm, Sakura-chan! Ino-chan! Do you mind if I could move while you two decide who gets to sit here?"

"No! I'm sitting there!"

"Shove off!"

"Why don't you!"

"No! You!"

"Just disappear already!"

"Oh for heaven's sake," Naruto mumbled, shaking his head and slapping his forehead protector. _"This is just like Anko and her mood-swings, Ero-Sennin with his pervert antics, and Baa-chan with her drunkenness…"_

At this point, the whole class was now watching the cat-fight open up before them, here the two girls were now pulling on each other's hair, and grappling through tooth and nail. At this point, they've have resulted to overpowering the other with all of their strength.

And seriously, it _was_ with **all** their strength!

"Get a life, forehead!"

"Go find another guy! Sasuke-kun is mine!"

"Well I don't see your name on him!"

"Get lost!"

"Make me!"

It was then, Ino suddenly pushed Sakura forward, causing her to trip and to fall awkwardly on top of Naruto, both of them letting out yells of shock as they fell on top of Sasuke, who was conveniently leaning forward in his usual way, causing him to yell out in shock when he was suddenly pushed forward thanks to an extra weight on his back. The whole class, especially Ino, gasped at the sight they saw.

Whether it was good or bad depends on the deliverer and the receiver. Of course, it was rather a peculiar situation. Sakura had conveniently been pushed on top of Naruto, causing both of their lips to collide in a rather weight distributed kiss. At the same time, Naruto had fallen on top of Sasuke, and in his haste had pushed the container of dango sauce onto Sasuke's part of the desk, so when the Uchiha was forced down by the extra weight, his face went splat into the sauce. Now the Uchiha was struggling for air, but couldn't remove his face since Naruto and Sakura were on top of him, kissing in their awkward position.

Ino giggled slightly at the looks of shock on Naruto and Sakura's faces, and how a deep blush seemed to grow on Sakura's cheeks. In the background, the students of the class were slack-jawed, at the same time a certain purple haired Hyuuga was fuming.

"_S-She kissed my Naruto-kun!"_ In spite of her usual shyness, insecurity and lack of confidence, Hinata's personality was suddenly pushed aside by an inner persona she never knew she had, and her face was scrunched up with a look of outrage and jealousy no one had ever seen before. Shino, whom she was sitting next too, eased away with w die eyes as he watched the steam rising from the Hyuuga's head. _"That BITCH!"_

Meanwhile, Sasuke was still face down in the sauce, and was only able to edge his nostrils up a bit to get some much needed oxygen. "Pwease…gwet…ouf… of…me…" Sasuke mumbled. _"What in Gods name are they doing? Making out?"_

Sakura, of course, was in a well deep of shock, and her mind was trying to process what had just happened. The first thing she knew, she was falling, and the next thing she knew, she found herself with her lips pressed up against Naruto's who had an equally wide-eyed look staring back at her. But as the seconds ticked by, and she tried to move, she eventually found herself to be enjoying this, and her eyes became half-lidded and a blush streaked across her lips.

"_Hey… this isn't half-bad…"_ she thought, moaning a little and closing her eyes. _"Naruto… his lips… they are… so warm…"_

Naruto was also having a thousand and one thoughts flooding through his mind. The girl who had for all these years saw him as an annoyance, and whom he had a crush on but just didn't admit it, was kissing him! This was a completely new experience for him, and he had no idea what to think.

"_Sakura-chan… is kissing me!"_ Naruto thought loudly. _"I… I don't believe this! Wow…"_

After a minute or so, with Ino getting as little worried at the lack of oxygen the three of them were getting, Sakura parted and looked down at Naruto with a flushed face, who returned it with his usual wide-eyed expression. The pink haired girl licked her lips and smiled down at him.

"Mmm…pork…"

"Uhh… what?" Naruto asked, still a little dazed.

"Your lips taste like pork!"

"Really?" Ino asked, smirking cockily at the supposed embarrassment she had caused her friend. "So it wasn't that good?"

"No it was…" Sakura's look hazed a bit and she smiled. "Amazing…"

"Sa-kura…-chan," Naruto slowly said, his mind beginning to reregister again.

"Really?" Ino asked looking over. "Here, let me taste!" she exclaimed, pulling Sakura off of the boy hastily and without hesitation, kissing the boy.

Naruto nearly fainted from this second kiss by the other girl, his expression becoming dazed in an anime way, his eyes becoming wide, white and empty. Ino melted into the kiss immediately, further shocking a already speechless class, nearly knocking Hinata out at the sight and bewildering a dazed Sakura, who looked outraged at the interruption.

"INO-PIG!"

"Mmm…" Ino moaned as she deepened the kiss, trying to put her tongue into the fray.

Meanwhile, looking in on the scene from outside the building, holding a set of binoculars and eating a dango stick was none other than the purple-haired Jonin that had done nothing but encouraged the boy all his life. Anko was now sitting and watching with a huge grin on her face as the boy slowly became a man.

"Way to go, Gaki!"

"Yeah… go brat," another voice joined her, and she glanced to her left to see a white haired Sannin joining her on the rooftop, looking through a telescope and at the same time, jotting down in his note-book what he called 'research'.

The old man giggled perversely and enhanced the view on his telescope. "Oh this is gold! Just the kind of material I need for my next book! And here I just came to see what team Naruto was going to be on!"

"Let me guess…" Anko began with a smirk. "Is this the famed 'Ero-Sennin' and 'Pervy Sage' I have been hearing so much about?"

"What!" Jiraiya exclaimed, glaring at the woman. "I am _not_ a pervert!"

Anko sniggered. "Well, if the boot fits…"

"I am not a pervert…I am…" he continued, a creepy expression falling upon the old-man's face, and at the same time, he held his hands up and wiggled his fingers in the most insanely spine-tingling way possible. "**A SUPER PERVERT!"**

The purple haired Jonin rolled her eyes and went back to watching the make-out session occurring between her little Naruto and the blonde known as Ino. "Anyway… when's the new book coming out?"

"Oh, which one? Icha Icha Sauna or Icha Icha Hot Springs… I forget…" Jiraiya replied, putting his eye back to his telescope.

"Uhh… the second one…"

"Ah!" Jiraiya began. "That comes out in a month…"

"Sweet…" Anko grinned.

Anyway… back at the school…

Ino had managed to insert her tongue into the make-out session, much to Naruto's continually growing shock. But before she could take it any further, she was denied anymore mouth access when she was thrown off of Naruto by Sakura, who forced her against the side of the desk right next to Shikamaru, shaking it violently. The Nara looked up slightly in surprise, checking to see what was going on, but then shrugged and went back to sleeping when he found out it was nothing.

"Too troublesome…

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	5. Teammates and Friendship

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Teammates and Friendship_

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Sakura shouted at Ino.

"So… good…" the girl moaned in response, being the only reception Sakura was able to get from her dazed looking friend. After a kiss like that, who wouldn't be surprised?

"Alright! Listen here you hussy! NARUTO-KUN IS MINE!"

Ino shook herself out of her daze and glared at her pink-haired rival. "Oh yeah! Well… you can have Sasuke! I can take Naruto if that's alright with you!"

"What! No way! Not after that! Naruto-kun is mine!"

"No mine!"

"No mine!"

"You stay away from him! He's mine!"

"I don't think so!"

Sasuke lifted his head from the sauce pit and looked up, eyes narrowed and expression set in a way that increased its comical appearance by how the sauce was spread all over his face. He licked his lips as he pushed Naruto off of him slowly, looking down to see the dazed look on his face as the blonde unconsciously fell flat onto the desk in front of him. The Uchiha shook his head and wiped it clean of the sauce, stopping just for a few seconds to taste it.

"Mm… not bad," he mumbled, in spite of his ego and pride being shattered.

Naruto, on the other hand, was dizzy from the overload of processed information. "That was so nice…" he mumbled in his faze, cheeks blushing red and drool leaking out of his mouth. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him before pushing him away.

"Stop flooding the place, dobe," Sasuke said, pointing out the drool leaking out of his mouth. It was a pretty hilarious sight, especially since Sakura and Ino were still bickering. It was only with the much needed entrance by Iruka that stopped the fight, and brought everything back down to earth.

"Alright students, take your seats…" As the newly made Genin took to the rows, Iruka noticed the state Naruto and Sasuke were in. Firstly, the Uchiha was covered in sauce, and looked as though he had been rough-housed by a hotdog. Then there was Naruto, who was lying in a semi-conscious state with a look of bliss and a blush on his face, and a drool hanging from his mouth, as he lay splayed out on his desk. There were no signs of life coming from him. "Hey, what happened to Naruto?"

"Well, let me evaluate," Kiba exclaimed from behind, a smirk on his face, as he used hand signs in an attempt to put visual effects into use. "Pinky fell on Blondie, Blondie fell on Emo, Emo's face fell into a container of dango sauce. Pinky kissed Blondie, Blondie kissed back, and Second Blondie kissed Blondie upon removing Pinky. Simple as that…"

Iruka blinked and stared at the underdog of the class, who shrugged at him for further inclination. A few seconds of silence was to follow, before Iruka's brain caught up with him.

"Ooookay…moving on," Iruka cleared his throat and looked down at his notepad, readying to make his announcements for the day. "Now that you're all graduated to shinobi status, it is time to initiate the final stages of your inauguration. So to speak, it is time to assign you to your teams…"

The class remained silent, and listened in on this new information, while Naruto dazedly, but surely, regained consciousness to the real world.

"All shinobi and kunoichi of Konohagakure, as well as all the neighboring countries with ninja support, have been assigned to teams. Teams consist of three subordinates and one Jonin or team leader. In these three-man cells, all of you will learn to function as a team to complete your missions and learn the values of teamwork," Iruka explained. "By working as a team, you can accomplish tasks greater than what one ninja can perform…"

"So, how does this thing work?" a random student called.

"Do we have to do everything as a team?"

"Well, that is a yes and no," Iruka continued. "Yes, team assignments and duties require you to associate with your teammates and perform all the tasks given; such as mission work, training, tutoring, gatherings… but that doesn't mean you can't train and get stronger on your own time. You can continue to get stronger at your own pace, but you must maintain constant vigilance and communication with your teammates in order to create a strong force, and be able to accomplish future mission faster! Most of the missions distributed to ninjas in Konoha require functioning teams, which is why a lot of the ninja are seen coming and going from the village."

The students nodded in understanding, a hush murmur escaping over the ascending rows.

"Furthermore, each team is assigned their members based on their scores achieved in their exams, and their full year's marks!" Iruka stated. "Once these teams are listed and the names are distributed, they are made official. There is no going back, and there is no arguing it. You will have to cope with your teammates, and learn to get along with them. So… let's begin…" Iruka looked back down at his notepad. "Team 1…"

During the time Iruka read out the teams, Naruto managed to regain consciousness. Like recovering from a hangover, the boy groaned and shook his head, looking around through half-lidded eyes for the ones responsible for his sudden drop out of reality. He looked towards the upper rows, where he saw Sakura and Ino waiting eagerly for their teams to be read out. Sakura spotted Naruto looking up at her and waved, to which Naruto waved back with a grin.

"_Boy… I will never get tired of that smile…"_

Shaking his head, he stared back to the front of the classroom, and waited for his team to be called out. Eventually that time came…

"Let's see… Team 7 will include: Uzumaki Naruto!" Iruka began, Naruto's head popping up at the sound of his name.

"Haruno Sakura!"

Sakura pumped her fist. "Whoosha!" and she stuck her tongue out at Ino, who fumed at being out marked. The blonde girl folded her arms and sulked where she sat, sending a few mental curses Sakura's way.

"_Regardless, Naruto will be mine, forehead! You can count on it!"_

"And Hyuuga Hinata!" Iruka concluded.

Hinata's eyes widened a bit, and Sakura deflated in a second upon hearing this. Ino was also a little surprised, as were a lot of the other students. Naruto blinked, and turned t look up at the quiet, purple-haired girl sitting next to Shino. The bug user glanced at her, his sunglasses flashing as he watched her face grow a bit in redness and her eyes shimmer in surprise.

"WHAT!" Sakura shouted.

"Well… erhm…" Iruka cleared his throat and smiled, glancing down at his notepad. "And Team 7's Jonin leader will be…"

There was a smashing of windows, and suddenly a ball of bundled up sheets flew in. When it unraveled, much to Naruto's dismay, who slammed his head repeatedly on the table, shouting 'why-why-why' upon realizing who it was, there stood Konoha's hottest kunoichi: Anko Mitarashi. Finishing up her last dango, she tossed the stick away and in an all cool style manner, placed her hands on her hips.

"Ha! Right on time too!" Anko exclaimed, pointing at the three students she was assigned and grinned. "You, you and you! Meet me at _Ichiraku's Ramen Bar_ in six minutes, or your asses are going straight back to first Grade!"

All the students in the class were staring at the woman with slack-jawed expressions, especially Sakura and a rather nervous looking Hinata. Iruka just rubbed the back of his head in an uncomfortable manner, knowing that this was going to become a real pain for him in the future.

Naruto groaned and looked up at the woman with a deflated and defeated look on his face, seeing Anko grinning at him happily. "You? Why you? Of all the Jonin in the village! How can thi…oh…" the realization soon dawned on him, and he immediately rose to his feet. Immediately becoming enraged, he leapt at the woman, only to be quickly restrained by Sasuke, Kiba, Akamaru, Shikamaru and Choji the moment they realized what was going to happen. They struggled to keep him in his seat. "OH! You! YOU! YOU KNEW AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME! ARGH! LET ME AT HER! LET ME AT HER! RARGH!"

The sight was rather comical.

Anko laughed out loud, finding the scene in front of her the most hilarious she's seen all day. "I see you're happy to have me as your Jonin guide, gaki!" the woman exclaimed, running a hand through her hair. "That's great! The angrier the better!" She cocked an eyebrow as she watched Naruto struggle against the four of them. "That's what I really like about you… so forceful… kinky…"

Sakura's eye twitched as she looked the woman up and down, analyzing her figure and the way she made her appearance known. _"Who the heck is she? I have never seen this woman before?"_ A cold chill ran down her spin at the grin she gave Naruto, staring him down without a hint of fear at all. _"Boy, she gives me the creeps…"_

Hinata gulped, having met this woman before on many occasions when Kurenai invited her out or over to her place. Sure, she was comfortable around her, but the prospects of having her as her teacher made her nervous.

"_Anko… our teacher…oh my…"_

Said purple haired woman looked at her three teammates, ignoring the gawks from the other students, and jabbed her thumb over her shoulder.

"Come on, get moving! You have five minutes left!" she folded her arms and looked at her nails casually, while at the same time, mumbling a countdown. "Four, fifty-nine! Four, fifty-eight! Four, fifty-seven! Four, fifty si…"

"Okay! Okay! We're going!" Naruto shouted, jerking himself out of the boy's grips and sprinted out of the classroom, waiting at the door to be joined by a hurrying Sakura, and a timid Hinata. Anko grinned and clapped her hands, coaching them on.

"Come on, ladies! Move it! Move it! Move it! That goes for you to, Naruto-chan!"

"Fuck you!" came Naruto's voice echoing down the hallway.

"That's the spirit!" Anko then began to follow, but before she left she turned to Iruka and winked at him. "See you soon, Iruka-kun!" She left, leaving a blushing Chunin and rather appalled looks from a lot of the students. The thought of Iruka and Anko together made them feel a little ill…

* * *

Several minutes later, the three members of Team 7 were sitting at Ichiraku's Ramen Bar, each of them with a cup of green tea in their hands and drinking happily from them. Anko joined them several seconds before time expired, and treated them all to this social tea outing before getting down to the actual business. She took a long, dry sip from her cup, and after setting it down, rounded on the three sitting next to her.

"Well then! I guess introductions are in order!" Anko exclaimed, causing Naruto, Sakura and Hinata to look at her. The woman adjusted her coat and crossed her legs, showing off some of her leg. "I'll start! My name is Anko Mitarashi! I like dango, sweet-bean soup, snakes, and playing with my prey. I dislike hot and spicy food, and people who judge you before they get to know you. My favorite hobby is tea ceremonies. And my dream is… well… ahh… lets skip that!"

Naruto, Sakura and Hinata blinked at the same time. "Huh?"

Anko grinned at them and pointed in their direction. "Okay then! Your turn! Tell me your name, your likes, dislikes, your hobby, and dreams for the future…go on! You first, pinky!"

Sakura developed a tick-mark at that reference but went on anyway. "Alright! My name is Sakura Haruno! I like dumplings, umeboshi and cherry blossoms and uhh…" she glanced over at Naruto and giggled slightly, causing Naruto to grin and rub the back of his head nervously. "I dislike Ino, and I wish to fight her to prove that I am stronger than her! My hobbies include memorization and playing trivia! And my dreams for the future include becoming a kunoichi, and raising a family!"

"Interesting, interesting," Anko exclaimed, rubbing her chin. "But boring…"

Sakura was shot down at this, and she immediately became pissed.

"Ah! Just kidding!" Anko sniggered. "Okay! Your turn, hot-shot!"

Naruto grinned. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I like training, practicing my ninjutsu, ramen, and everyone I care about! I also dislike people who judge me, and the time it takes to cool ramen! My hobbies include training, writing… I guess! And my dream is to become the strongest ninja in Konoha, so that I can protect all those closest to me, and this village!" He held up his fist as extra leverage to his statement.

"Good on yah, gaki!" Anko exclaimed, giving him the thumbs up. "Okay, now you bright eyes…"

"Uhh… okay…" Hinata began, taking in a deep breath of air to compose herself. "I'm Hinata Hyuuga! I like zenzai, cinnamon rolls and… and… N-N-Naruto-kun. I do not like shrimp and crabs. I like pressing flowers as a hobby, and… my dreams for the future… a-are to fight Neji and my father, to prove that I am stronger than they think!"

Naruto turned and smiled at the young girl, seeing the sincerity and courage behind her words. The purple haired girl looked at the blonde and, upon seeing him smiling at her, smiled back and blushed heavily, before looking away, running a hand through her hair. Sakura also smiled at Hinata, then turned to Naruto and nudged him in the arm.

"You're pretty popular now, Naruto-kun…"

"Yeah… I… I guess so…" Naruto replied, but retracted into himself as his thoughts exposed a rather inconvenient truth he did not want to become aware to. _"But am I liked now because of me, or for what I have done?"_

"Well then! Now that we all know each other!" Anko exclaimed, rising to her feet. "I'd like to get one last thing over with. All of you come with me…" She said, paying for their drinks and departing. Naruto, with Sakura and Hinata at his sides, followed after, wanting to know what the psycho Jonin had planned for them.

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	6. Passing Fancy

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Passing Fancy_

Anko stood in front of her students in the middle of one of the many training grounds, checking her nails as the three of them looked around them. It was just a large clearing bordered by a forest of trees, and with three posts standing proud in the center of the field. Naruto and Sakura looked at each other and shrugged, and Sakura shared with Hinata, showing the evidence of all their confusion. They all then looked back at the purple haired Snake Jonin, as she flicked a piece of dirt she found on her trench coat covering a full, upper-body mesh.

"So uhh… A-Anko-sensei," Hinata began, fingers laced together and hands held up to her chest. "W-Why are we here?"

"Yeah! What's the deal?" Sakura blurted out. "Are we, like, supposed to meditate or something? Get in touch with our inner-self?"

Anko snorted. "Yeah, like I'd get you three to do something as boring as that!" she shot back, smirking at them after lowering her hand to her side. "Guess I should tell you why I brought you out here so hastily!"

"Well! Hurry up then! We don't have all day!" Naruto shouted, waving his arms around and jumping on the spot.

The Snake Mistress grin widened. "Alright then! Here it goes. But I warn you, the following information may be of a shock to you!" Anko said, taking in a deep breath to steady herself, and add a little more tension to the moment. To the three, the suspense was killing them, as noted by their nervous expressions, especially on Hinata's face. "Alright. As you may know, you were given exams at the end of your Ninja Academy Training, signifying your graduation from the academy and your ascent to shinobi-hood. This is in part, true. However… the reason you were given these exams at the end of your last semester at the academy was to determine candidates worthy of possibly becoming actual Genin."

Sakura blinked at this. "W-What are you saying? That the end of semester Genin Exams were pointless?"

"No! No! That's not what I'm saying at all!" Anko replied, letting out a sigh. "The exam was just an actual test. The real exams are actually given by the Jonins to the teams they are assigned, which are much more practical, and test all aspects of what you have learnt over the course of your time at the academy…"

"So then… these exams the Jonin are given," Naruto began, folding his arms. "They are just to weed out the weak ones, and see which ones are to become Genin!"

Anko grinned and pointed at Naruto. "You got it!"

"So then wait… "Sakura continued on step. "If we're taking this exam now, then that means only a set number of students are going to make it as Genin. Exactly how many are allowed to make the cut?"

"Glad you asked!" Anko exclaimed, slipping her kunai from her side holster and spinning it on her finger. Snatching it into a single-handed grasp, she ran her tongue along its edge and grinned. "Out of the 27 to graduate, only 9 students will be able to make the cut. To put it more simply, it's a make or break test, with a 60 Percent Success kill off ratio, or more specifically, only three teams can be formed out of the nine!"

Hinata nodded. "So that means, you're going to give the final decision whether or not we make it or not?"

Naruto grinned. "And it's safe to say that the Jonin decide our final fate!"

"Sounds fun, doesn't it?" Anko exclaimed, delightful venom dripping off of the tip of her tongue. "It's the Jonin that administer the final tests. And if you haven't figured it out already, I've already got a test planned for you." Quickly, she reached into her trench coat. Acting as though she were drawing a weapon, the three youngsters leapt back in response, drawing their own kunai and readying for an attack. Anko smirked.

"_Good… they're able to catch on pretty quick! Let's put that to the test!"_

She snickered and drew three slips of paper from her trench coat. Quickly, she then tossed the three pieces of paper towards them, to be caught by all of them, and analyzed upon being caught. When they saw that they were merely pieces of paper outlined in red with plain, unidentifiable seals on them, the three of them looked up at the Snake Jonin in confusion.

"What are these for?" Sakura asked.

"T-They don't seem like any ordinary seals or tags…" Hinata pointed out.

"Correct!" Anko exclaimed, nodding towards them. "Those are custom made paralyzing tags! I was in a rush, so I had to improvise! Anyway, here is how this is going to work. Since the Genin teams are supposed to be scheduled to be tested tomorrow morning, I have decided to give you three my test now so I can administer my answer later without worry, and not have to be concerned about the other teams getting in our way! Your task is to try and tag me with at least two of these! The first two to tag me win, while the other third team member that doesn't, gets tied up over there!" Anko exclaimed, pointing towards the three posts in the middle of the field. "That person will have to stay there all day until tomorrow as a consequence…any questions?"

Naruto, Hinata and Sakura stared at her dumbfounded.

The impact of what she had just told them was unbelievable, making it a rather comical sight to the purple haired Jonin. It was until their brains registered did they eventually react.

"WHAT!" Sakura yelled.

"T-This is insane!" Hinata blurted out, but her voice didn't carry out with as much ferocity as intended.

"That means at least one of us will end up tied up and humiliated!" Naruto roared out. "It's basically just a race to see who can tag you first! And the loser is prosecuted! What a sick joke!"

"It's no joke!" Anko exclaimed, grinning while twirling her kunai again. "It's to make things more fun and interesting. This way, at least one of you will end up tied to a post, and I get to laugh at you! Simple as that!" She looked down at her watch and nodded. "You have five hours! After that, we will take a break! Then we can continue till seven! That sounds fair?"

She looked over at them, seeing their freaked out and dismayed expressions. She grinned and clapped her hands together!

"Excellent! You may begin!"

Snapping out of it, the three students crouched low and leapt away, vanishing into the surrounding forests…

* * *

_**Two hours later…**_

Anko was sitting on top of one of the posts comfortably, a box of dango opened up in front of her and an I-pod in hand. With both ear-pieces in her ears, she listened to her favorite rock music while eating out, smiling happily, as if oblivious to everything else around her. She bobbed her head slightly when a good chorus came on, the earphones blazing.

"Oh yeah… mm-mm… that's the stuff!"

In the trees of the surrounding forests, three sets of eyes were watching her closely from afar. Perched on a tree to Anko's right, but too in deep for her to see them, Naruto, Sakura and Hinata were watching their sensei closely, observing her, summarizing her up with their eyes. They knew they had to remain hidden, and come up with a plan to overcome her. Sakura's eye twitched as she watched the woman aimlessly listen to her music, bopping her head to the music and enjoying a nice snack of dango.

"The nerve of her!" Sakura growled. "How can she listen to music, and at the same time, ask us to tag her, when she's clearly not interested in this test at all?! We can just go in there and take her now!"

"Not just yet!" Naruto said, grabbing her shoulder to keep the girl from going in.

Sakura growled and turned to him. "Come on! Are you stupid or something? If she's not paying attention, then we've got a chance of taking her!" She tried to jerk her shoulder out of his grip, but the look in his eyes as he glared out towards their sensei stopped her. For the first time ever, Sakura saw a look of a dead man glaring ahead of him, his once kind, bright blue eyes now a dull shade of blue, with rings under them, showing fatigue and exhaustion from years of suffering. She immediately placed them from just one look, and she was shocked none to say the least.

"N-Naruto…" Sakura whispered, blinking as she stared slightly wide-eyed and almost fearfully at him. Hinata looked too, and also saw the look. She had a similar reaction, only she gasped audibly upon seeing the change in Naruto's eyes. In fact, to them, he didn't look like Naruto at all. He looked like a completely, different, broken man.

He looked at them, seeing them staring at him in shock and fear. Knowing what they were looking at, his look softened a bit and he reached into his back pouch. From it, he drew a white and red mask, slipping it over his face easily and raising his hood.

"I know…" Naruto said, his voice slightly muffled by the mask. He then glanced round at them and nodded towards them, seeing a change in expressions. "I've got a plan. But first, Hinata, can you use your Byakugan and see if there is anything out of the ordinary going on. If I know Anko, she is not going to make this easy for us, even though we're just Genin…"

Hinata, returning to the real world with Sakura, nodded her head and looked ahead of her, slapping her hands together into a hand-sign. Sakura looked at her in surprise.

"Byakugan? You mean the Hyuuga family's infamous doejutsu?"

"Yes," Hinata replied, opening her eyes, with veins suddenly appearing on the outer side of both eyes. "Byakugan!" Her vision expanded, and she immediately zoomed in on their target. She looked around through her enhanced field of view, trying to look for any traps, or anything out of the ordinary. It was then, through her field of view, she spotted something a little bit strange; a trail of chakra leading out of the woman's headsets, something she knew was off. She followed it, careful not to strain her head too far, and spotted something in the bushes, something long with an animal chakra make-up.

"There's something…" Hinata said, catching the pair's attention. "Chakra streams… faint, but its there…and there's a… animal… like a reptile or something…"

"Hmm…" Naruto glanced behind him, not moving his head much towards the trees below. He smirked when he spotted the problem and jabbed Sakura's attention in the direction with a slight hand movement. She followed it, and also saw the problem a story below them. She gritted her teeth and looked back at their opponent.

"Great, she found us and she knows we're here!" Sakura said.

"Told you she was tricky," Naruto stated. "She would have known you were going to attack her before, and she would have easily finished you. That's why we've got to come up with a plan of attack before moving in!"

Sakura nodded, drawing a shuriken and, without turning her head, tossed it straight down at the snake hiding in the bushes below. There was a hiss, as the snake was struck, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Anko's ear twitched, causing her to glance around and smirk.

"_About time something happened…"_

Naruto glanced at Sakura, the girls turning to him for further instructions, while Hinata kept a close watch on Anko out of the corner of her still active Byakugan.

"So what do we do?"

Naruto rubbed his chin in thought. "It's a risky wager, but can you use Genjutsu, Sakura?"

Sakura shrugged. "It's not an affinity of mine, but I've experimented with some. What kind do you want me to use?"

The boy glanced at her, and stared at her through his mask. "Alright, here's what I need you to do…"

A few minutes later, Anko waited and continued listening to her music, tapping her fingers and clicking at the rhythm. It was at this time of anxious waiting, the awaited attack finally came, and Anko picked up on the sounds of shuriken and kunai heading her way. A cluster of them shot from the trees to her left and she grinned, catching the first four between her fingers, and quickly throwing those back at the other four headed her way, knocking them out of the air easily.

"Too slow!" she exclaimed, only to get a mighty shock when the ground behind her exploded, and out jumped a masked Naruto with his hood pulled over. He came down at her quickly, right arm drawn back and blade emerging with a slice. Anko smirked and threw her left arm behind her, tossing a cluster of shuriken at him. They struck head on just as he was three feet from her, and he disappeared in a puff of white smoke.

"Like I said… too…huh?" Anko looked ahead of her now, craning her neck back to do so to see another cluster of four kunai flying straight at her. She back-flipped, throwing her legs up to avoid getting hit by the first two that thunked loudly against the log's side where her legs used to be hanging, and crouched low atop of the stump, low enough to avoid the last two, which shot just over her head.

Anko smirked. "Not bad, pinky!" the woman exclaimed, spotting the ruffling in the trees ahead of her. She held up her right arm, the sleeves shuffling and her arm twitching as she pumped chakra into it. "Ninja Art: Shadow Snake Hands!" she shouted, throwing her right arm forward, the four familiar snake lengths shooting out and flying directly for the place he knew where the little girl was hiding.

They struck the bushes head on, a light cry emerging forth and making Anko grin. She tugged on them, drawing back her snakes, and when they emerged, they pulled along with them a familiar pink-haired student. Upon with drawing them fully, Sakura flew right into her hand, and Anko grabbed her by the ring of her shirt collar, holding her up to see the girl staring fearfully at her.

"Gottcha, pinky!" Anko grinned at her.

Sakura stared at her through fearful eyes for the next few seconds, but then, a grin suddenly appeared on her face, and the girl exploded into a cloud of cherry blossom petals. Anko blinked in shock, watching as the petals blew around her.

"A Cherry Blossom Clone?" she asked. _"No… it can't be… it doesn't feel like it!"_

Suddenly, the cherry blossom petals overcame her, becoming a really thick cloud, and the woman suddenly found her hands grabbed and held down by a pair of invisible, strong hands. She spat on the blossom petals swarming around her mouth, and tried to get a better look to see who was doing it. It was then the purple-haired girl was able to grasp the full seriousness of her situation. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"_Genjutsu? How can they…?"_ it was then, a smirk appeared on her face. _"Oh, Sakura! Heh… she has quite the talent in producing illusions…"_

Realizing she didn't have much time left, Anko bit on the corner of her mouth, drawing blood, the pain quickly forcing her out of her stupor. Her eyes widening, she realized that her hands and arms were being held down by both Naruto and Sakura, and Hinata was coming at her from in front, tag in hand and ready to slap on.

Gritting her teeth, Anko's arms jerked slightly and she managed to aim her hands upwards, catching the attention of the two students holding her arms down.

"Ninja Art: Hidden Mamba Technique!" Anko exclaimed. Suddenly, two grey snakes shot out of her sleeves, forcing Naruto and Sakura to release her in surprise. The long grey snakes coiled around their victims, and their heads protruded upwards, mouths becoming agape, showing the black gum underneath of the most dangerous and venomous, small snake in the Land of Fire. They hissed loudly and plunged down at their victims, biting into their necks.

Anko intended to knock them out with poison, and administer the antidote as soon as she dealt with Hinata, but got quite a shock when the two students disappeared into puffs of smoke, both of their places replaced by logs. The woman blinked and glared ahead of her, seeing Hinata lunge at her with a tag.

Holding her mouth open, a snake quickly shot out of her mouth, intending to strike the girl. Hinata, though surprised, quickly acted and leapt into the air, flipping over Anko and landing behind the woman. Anko's Hidden Cobra Tongue missed her target and struck the ground instead, but retracted quickly when she realized she had missed.

Spinning around and rising to her feet, Anko smiled and placed her hands on her hips, watching as Hinata lunged at her again, tag pocketed and Byakugan blazing. She struck out at her with an easily identifiable Gentle Fist style of fighting, unleashing devastating combinations at Anko, who easily dodged and backed away from the girl's assault, smiling.

"Not bad, Hinata!" Anko exclaimed, slipping around the girl when she struck at her with a straight jab, only to stumble forwards when she missed her mark. But her Byakugan was able to keep track and her, and she managed to pivot out of her stumble, quickly setting her sights back on her mark. "But you'll need the help of your teammates to help subdue me!"

Suddenly, a pair of hands shot out of the ground and grabbed Anko by her ankles, surprising the woman and causing her to look down, where she saw the face of a masked Naruto pop out of the ground. Were it not for the mask, you could see the grin plastered on her face.

"Who says she doesn't?"

Anko growled and was about to throw a punch down at him, but couldn't when she heard the sounds of rushing footsteps coming at her from behind. She glanced behind her, seeing Sakura rushing at her with a tag in hand. Grinning the girl leapt at the woman at full-speed. Anko tried to turn around and move to counter, but couldn't since Naruto was holding onto her legs firmly. She wasn't able to do anything in time when Sakura landed on her and slapped her tag onto her back, immediately jumping off as son as it was on.

The woman tried to reach back to remove it, but was soon overcome with a hot, electric effect. Small streams of purple electricity coursed over her body from where the tag was placed and she growled in pain, nearly collapsing to her knees.

This was a sign that she had been hit!

Looking up, she saw Hinata coming at her again with another strike, her palm glowing with chakra. Not wanting to be hit by that, Anko reached up with her thumb and ran it over the trail of blood running from her lip, where she had bitten to awaken her out of the Genjutsu. Once padding her hand with the blood, she placed it on top of Naruto's face still protruding out of the ground and shouted.

"Summoning Jutsu!" she yelled.

Hinata was halted from her attack by a blast of white smoke, with Naruto's yell of shock accompanying her little cry when the entire area was filled with blinding smoke. Sakura had managed to back away just far enough to be within shuriken range, and also far enough to watch what was unfolding. The three students watched from their positions, and Hinata and Sakura backed away slightly in shock when they saw a giant snake appeared where Anko once stood.

The massive serpent leered down at the two girls it could see, while it was on top of Naruto. Its tongue flickered out, tasting the air, and once getting a good whiff of its targets, let out a loud hiss. Sakura backed away in fear, and Hinata, trembling from head to toe, also backed off.

Anko sat atop of her summon's head, smirking as she looked down at her opponents.

"That was good, you three!" she exclaimed, running her tongue over her upper lip. "But let's up the test a little!"

"Hey! No fair!" Sakura shouted, but immediately had to jump away when the snake's tail swiped at the pink-haired girl. She commando rolled along the ground, before assuming a crouched fighting stance upon stopping.

"Everything's fair in the midst of battle, pinky!" Anko stated. "There is no mercy, sympathy or chivalry in our line of work! You must understand that!"

Not too far from the snake's position, the ground cracked, and following the fist that punched out of it crawled a dirt covered Naruto. The yellow haired Gaki growled and shook his head of any excess debris, and glared behind him at the towering snake leering over his two girl teammates. He knew he had emerged behind Anko, and had the jump on her.

Anko smirked as she looked down at Hinata, who she knew had a tag on her. "You're mine now, bright eyes!" she exclaimed in a simulated, evil voice, although she was technically sort of villain tolerant. Directing her hand, her snake lunged in at her with its jaws wide open. However, just before the snake could attack Hinata, the girl suddenly vanished in a yellow blur, and the snake ended up kissing dirt, literally. Anko blinked and sun around, seeing Hinata appear beside Sakura, accompanied by their teammate Naruto.

"Here, Hinata, take this!" Naruto whispered, giving Hinata his seal behind his back as Hinata assumed a stance. She took it, and blinked in surprise.

"N-Naruto-kun?"

"I trust you know what to do with it! Now… let's go!" Naruto shouted, drawing a kunai and taking a stance.

"Right!" Sakura and Hinata said, also taking their appropriate fighting stances.

Anko's snake turned on them, along with Anko, who was still crouched atop of her giant snake's head. She grinned as she watched the three Genin take their stances and ready themselves for battle! The Jonin had to admit, they made quite a strong team.

"Not a chance, brats!" Anko shouted, drawing her own kunai and grinning. "Do you think you three alone are enough to take on a fully-fledged Jonin?"

"Hell-yeah!" a double, familiar shout sounded from behind and above the purple haired woman, a gasp emerging from Anko's lips. She glanced behind her, shocked to see a pair of Narutos flying down at her, one of them with his right hand held outwards with a swirling, blue ball of chakra pulsating and growing in his hand, and a second Naruto feeding it chakra and giving it shape with his two hands. The ball of chakra grew and spun rapidly, with visible streams of wind entering it as the two attackers flew straight down at Anko and her snake, drawing dangerously close to her. "Hope you're ready for this!"

"_Shit!"_ Anko growled, crouching and leaping off of her snake's head and into the air in time. _"Shadow clones! And when in the hell did the gaki learn __**that**__ technique!?"_

"RASENGAN!" Naruto growled, thrusting his attack forward and sending it into the back of the snake's head. The attack was devastating, a blast of swirling wind slicing at the snake's head, the effects of burning from friction and the force of the attack being so great, that it shook the ground, and causing the trees to blow violently in the wind. The snake hissed and screeched loudly in pain as it was driven straight down into the earth, forced into it with a loud, splintering crash and a blast of dust clouds and debris.

Anko gritted her teeth. "Dammit! Huh?" she looked behind her again, straining her neck to look upwards. She had almost forgotten about her other opponents, and got a real big surprise when she saw Sakura flying at her from above. Kunai in hand, and glowing blue with enhanced chakra, the girl let out a yell and lunged at the woman, thrusting to blade in her direction.

"Eat this!" Sakura shouted. Anko growled and maneuvered in mid-air, twirling around with her own kunai in hand and batting Sakura's away, directing it safely to her side and watching Sakura fly past her. It was then she spotted something out of the ordinary about Sakura's weapon.

"_What the?"_ she thought, seeing an unusual, improvised seal carved into the blade's side.

It was when she realized what it was, was it too late. A puff of smoke shot out of the seal followed by a blur, and from that blur, Naruto shot out and straight at the purple haired woman, blade in hand and moving at such a high speed that it would be impossible to avoid him. Anko growled and raised her kunai up, both of their weapons colliding with a clang.

However, it wasn't Naruto's attention to lock blades with her head-to-head, as at his current level of skill he would be beaten in just a few minutes. Instead, he just grabbed her arms with his free hand, holding her in her place and pulled them together tightly. At the same time, both of them were now falling out of the sky. Anko grinned when Naruto wrapped his legs around her waist, further restraining her.

"Aww… I didn't know you felt this way about me, gaki?" Anko exclaimed. "You're pretty good with the ladies. Do you want to make out with me, too?" she teased, recalling Naruto's early experience with Sakura and Ino.

"Tempting, but no," Naruto exclaimed.

Suddenly, Anko caught a whiff of another attacker's movements, and glared behind her, where she saw Hinata leaping at her with two more tags. It took her a split second to reach the two falling ninja, since she got a better jump start from the ground, and was soon upon the purple-haired Jonin, whose eyes widened.

"Ah shit!" Anko muttered.

"Take this!" Hinata shouted, slapping the two tags onto her back and leaping away, Naruto did so too, kicking off of Anko's stomach and back-flipping away. While Hinata and Naruto landed perfectly, Anko crashed to the ground. As soon as she dead, the three seals combined took effect, and the woman found herself zapped by high-voltages of electricity. Her back arched off the ground as she was overcome by the stunning effects of energy, and with a cry, collapsed to the ground when the seals took their full effect.

Naruto, Sakura and Hinata, amidst the rubble of the clearing, approached the woman and circled her, but were cautious at the same time. Forming a three-man circle around the unconscious woman, they looked down at her and watched her lie there, eyes closed and a clear sleeping expression on her face.

Naruto removed her mask, all three of them blinking down at the woman.

"Umm… is she… dead?" Sakura asked.

"I sure hope not," Hinata voiced, her Byakugan now deactivated and her hands held up to her chest.

"Don't worry, she's alright," Naruto said with a smirk. "She's just unconscious, and judging from the seals, will be for the next hour or so…"

"So, what should we do with her?" Sakura asked, looking up at Naruto who lowered his hood and put his mask away, his eyes and face back to normal. Both Sakura and Hinata were relieved that he was alright, and the childish smile was back on his face.

Naruto grinned, glancing towards the three posts, the girls' eyes following his. "I have an idea…"

The three of them then grinned evilly down at the woman, and they quickly got to work…

* * *

_**An hour later…**_

Anko's eyes fluttered open as she awakened from her sleep, and she looked up. Trying to move, she found that her arms and legs were stiff, and unable to move, and when she looked down at herself, she found to her bewilderment that she was tied up. Growling, she fought against her restraints to no avail, and eventually gave up when she found that there were chakra restraining seals placed on the rolls and her, courtesy and Sakura and Hinata. The chain and cuffs was of course thanks to Naruto.

"Sorry if it's a little uncomfortable," a voice spoke up in front of the woman, making her look up. When she did, she saw Naruto, Hinata and Sakura sitting around on a picnic blanket with an array of sushi, ramen, dumplings, and other assorted goods, along with some tea, set out in front of them. Anko saw that it was Naruto who was speaking to her. "We didn't know how good you were at escape techniques, so we had to take some extra precautions…"

Sakura, looking up from her plate of sushi, smiled up at the woman. "Those tags you made were specifically designed so they were supposed to knock you down on the second one, but literally knocked you out on the third one!"

"You should consider a different test, Anko-sensei! You underestimated us, and didn't expect us to attack you like that!" Hinata exclaimed, taking a dumpling in her mouth and chewing. "Mmm… delicious!"

"Here you go, Hinata-chan!" Naruto said, taking a pair of chopsticks and a dumpling and holding it up to the purple haired Hyuuga kneeling across from him. "Say, ahh!"

"Ahh," Hinata responded, opening her mouth and being fed by the young ninja. Naruto grinned and turned to Sakura, holding up a piece of sushi for her.

"Hey! Sakura-chan! Open wide!" Naruto exclaimed. Sakura smiled and opened her mouth, saying 'ahh' as well and taking the piece of sushi. She moaned at the delightful taste and swallowed. All three of them shared looks and laughed with each other, before looking towards Anko again. "So, Anko-sensei! How'd we do?!"

The woman, tied up, bound and unable to do anything, smiled at them and nodded, lowering her head humbly. "You guys did exceptionally well. It was a real surprise. You operated as a perfect three-man cell, just as a true Genin team of Konoha would. You used your skills to the best of their abilities, and came up with a perfect strategy to overcome an obviously superior opponent. I could not ask for any other students to be on my team than you three!" She looked up at them with a grin.

The three of them beamed, their faces brightening at this prospect. "So, did we pass?"

"Damn right you did!" Anko exclaimed. "Team 7 will be starting its first real mission tomorrow as the first and latest Genin Team of Konohagakure!"

"Yay!" The three of them cheered, throwing their hands in the air.

"Now, could you three do something for me?" Anko asked sweetly.

"Anything, sensei!" Sakura said.

"UNTIE ME AND LET ME HAVE SOME OF THAT DANGO!" her voice roared, using the infamous 'big-head jutsu' Iruka was famous for.

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	7. A New Mission

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_A New Mission_

_**Three Weeks Later…**_

Naruto struggled valiantly against the lashing claws of the beast caught in his arms. He growled against fierce resistance, and muffled his ears as best to block out its loud, monstrous war cries. However, he was still deafened by them, but bit down tooth and nail to resist the screeches. But no matter how strong his mental endurance was against such an audible onslaught that nearly broke through his very eardrums, he could barely stand up against the razor sharp talons of this creature. Try as he might, he could barely keep his grip as the monstrosity set upon him like a wolf, a ferocious demon wanting to break free against the arms attempting to pin it against the attacker and the ground.

As much of a tussle, and as hard as it was, Naruto found it a lot easier to tame a wild falcon, eagle and dog than this stupid cat!!!!

"ARGH! WHY YOU LITTLE RAT!" Naruto yelled, the cat's claw scraping across his face. "THAT'S IT!" he shouted, wrestling the brown, furry creature onto its stomach and attempting to keep it down. Sakura and Hinata watched from either side of him as he rolled around on the ground with the cat, giggling at the sight.

"YOU WANT TO PLAY SUMO! THEN LET'S PLAY!"

The little cat, Tora, howled loudly and turned the tables for the fifth time, managing to end up on Naruto's chest, and was lashing angrily at his face. Naruto cried out in pain, before grabbing the cat's arms and trying to get it into a headlock.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT, CAT!" Naruto cried out. "THAT'S DIRTY PLAY! NO CLAWS!!!"

"**This is Snake to Pinky! What is your status? Over!"** Anko's voice spoke up through the receivers in the group's ears. Sakura giggled, seeing Naruto once again, unsuccessfully grab the cat by the neck and try to throttle it, only to have the cat jump up onto his head and scratch his hair and forehead brutally. The pink haired girl then turned and placed her fingers on the receiver piece, transmitting a reply to their team leader.

"This is Pinky to Bitch…"

"_**IT'S SNAKE! BRAT!" **_Anko shouted back, causing Sakura to wince at the screech in her earpiece.

"Sorry… (snigger)… Snake…" Sakura replied with a grin. She looked back at Naruto, to see him continue struggling against the claws of the cat. Hinata was now crouching beside his flailing body, trying to help him remove the cat, despite its protests. "We've caught the cat! Slippery little rascal! Please verify: brown fur with a red bow around its right ear, designated: Tora!"

"**That's the rat!"** Anko exclaimed. **"Geez, this is the 1127****th**** time it's gotten away!"**

Sakura's eyes widened. "The 1127th time the cat's managed to run away from its owners!" Naruto and Hinata stopped struggling. With Naruto managing to keep the cat in his hands at arms length above him, he sat up, and he and Hinata looked at Sakura with widened eyes.

"What?!" the pair in the background shouted.

"**Well… I've been keeping score! I've got a record booklet right here of all the missions ever undertaken! Every Jonin's got one, but they may tell you something different in this case! Anyway, this is the 1127****th**** time the cat has managed to escape from its owner Madam Shijimi," **Anko said. **"I had to chase the same little monster when I was a Genin! I think the cat has been around since the very first Hokage!"**

"Really?" Sakura asked, raising an eyebrow.

"**It's a got a heck of a lot more lives than nine, I can tell you that," **Anko stated. **"A curse among ninja! It says in here it took Team Minato 7 hours to try and catch it, thanks to it clawing up Kakashi and Obito's faces more times than once!"**

"Slackers!" Naruto called, the cat going back to scarring his hands. Its claws lashed at his hands in lighting fast, anime style, and Naruto bit his lip in a humorous manner to resist its onslaught. "We… got it… grr… in less than… argh… two hours!"

"**Excellent! You just beat the old record by five minutes! Congratulations brats!"** Anko exclaimed. **"Pack it up, we're headin' on back!"**

"Stupid cat, cutting into my training!" Naruto growled. Sakura smiled and pulled out the cage from the scroll they were given. Upon opening its lid, Naruto tried to put it in, but the cat continued to put up one hell of a fight. After futility lashing away at Naruto's hands, placed its hands and legs at the four corners of the frame to the cage door, and held its place. Sakura secured the cage and took a stance as Naruto tried to push the cat in by force. They both growled at the effort, as the cat continued to protest against going into the cage.

"Come on, cat!" Naruto growled. "Get… in… there!"

He eventually managed to put it in, and Sakura quickly shut the cage. Naruto staggered back and fell to the floor in exhaustion, and watched as the cat flailed around inside its cage. The spiky haired Genin backed away as he saw the cat trying to get out, and Sakura put the cage down, for fear of being scratched by its claws sticking out of the spaces between bars.

"Put a seal on that damn thing!" Naruto shouted, pointing a shaky finger at it.

Hinata quickly did so, placing one of the top and at the door, and a small one around the lock. The three of them collapsed in exhaustion, with Naruto sprawling out on the grass.

"Ugh… I hate these missions…"

* * *

_**An hour later…**_

The question of why the cat ran away from its owners over a thousand times was soon answered when, as soon as the cat was returned to its owner at the mission briefing room, they saw how Madam Shijimi, the Fire Daimyo's wife, treated her cat. A fat woman, dressed in royalty, smothering the cat with hugs and kisses, almost suffocating it. Tears of anguish could be seen escaping the cat's eyes as the woman hugged her cat.

Naruto, Sakura, Hinata and Anko watched as the woman paid for the mission, and left with her cat back in its cage. When the door closed, Sakura shook her head.

"I kind of feel sorry for the little fellow…"

"M-Madam Shijimi must take better care a-and consideration for her pets," Hinata explained. Naruto frowned.

"Well, tough for it," the blonde said. He rubbed his right cheek, his hands, face and head noticeably wrapped in bandages and covered in band aids. "Ow…! Stupid cat! I should have put some ointment on these scratches before I wrapped myself up…"

"Oh, I've got some ointment, Naruto-kun!" Hinata exclaimed, holding out a bottle to the young man. Naruto looked towards her and smiled brightly; he grasped the bottle and looked at it, getting a whiff of its herbals scent and nodding his head. "I made it myself… i-it should help!"

"Thanks a lot, Hinata!"

"Erhem," the pair was interrupted by the Hokage, who cleared his throat to catch their attention. Sarutobi nodded to the team and smiled, seeing them line up in front of him, with Anko hanging to the side, hands in her pockets and a smirk on her face. "Excellent work, Team 7! I am really proud of you four for capturing and returning that ra… I mean, the pet cat, to Mistress Shijimi. And congratulations for setting the new record… Anko…" he looked towards her. "What's the time?"

Anko pulled out her booklet, Naruto, Sakura and Hinata quickly moving over to her, and craning their heads to see the times. They whistled at the number of times and teams involved in the missions.

"Lets see…" Anko murmured. "Team 5… Team 21… Team Gai… ah, yes! Team 7, consisting of Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno and Hinata Hyuuga: One hour, fifty six minutes, and thirty-seven seconds!" She slapped the book close, nearly hitting Sakura's nose. The woman and the team grinned over at the Hokage; except Hinata who merely smiled proudly. "Read it and weep!"

"Wonderful!" the Hokage exclaimed. "As an added bonus for breaking the record, I will add an extra 30 percent to your mission pay. Well done!"

Sakura and Hinata high-fived with each other and Naruto knocked knuckles with Anko.

"What time did you get, Oji-san?" Naruto asked. "When you were on Team Tobirama?"

The Hokage rubbed the back of his head, and hid as much of his expression under the shadow of his funny-hat as much as possible. "Uhh… my team got… twenty seven hours, fifty-six minutes and seventy two seconds… the… cat managed to cross the borders into Kumogakure. That was our best time…"

Naruto, Sakura, Hinata and Anko stared at the Hokage sitting behind the desk silently for the next several seconds, even Iruka and some of the other staff also working in the room at the time paused to gape at the Hokage. After the few seconds had passed, and Naruto tried to contain his laughter, he just let it out. Holding his gut and trying to maintain his stance, he pointed and laughed at the great old Hokage, with Sakura and Anko joining in, and Hinata in a fit of giggles on the side. Even Iruka had to shove a fist in his mouth to stop himself from laughing.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Naruto laughed. "T-T-THAT'S… HAHAHA… PRICELESS!!! GAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"Shut up! That cat has been trouble since before you were even born! It nearly started a war between Konohagakure and Kumogakure!" Sarutobi exclaimed, only to make Naruto laugh harder and fall to the ground, with Sakura and Anko nearly falling to the ground, laughing. "Kumogakure demanded a public execution for the 'furry demon', as it tormented the Raikage when it managed to enter its office and scare his wife! His wife was allergic to cats! We managed to avoid a war when we agreed to split the bill between Kumo and Konoha for capturing the cat on the original mission!"

This only seemed to add fuel to the already raging fire, and now Sakura was on the ground laughing.

The laughter carried on for another minute or so, before eventually everyone calmed down and, with soar guts, everyone was on their feet again, and paying their humblest of respects to the Hokage.

"Sorry, Hokage-sama," Anko said, wiping a tear away from under her eye. "Please… carry on…"

"Of course," Sarutobi Hiruzen replied, a tick-mark visibly seen on his head. Clearing his throat, he held up a scroll and began reading out the missions received today. "Alright, the next missions for your team are as follow. They consist of several, simple D-Rank missions: walking the dogs from the local store, mowing the Fire Lord's lawn, getting a few kites out of the First Hokage Monument Tree…they've been building over the past few weeks and it looks a bit messy, requirements are to return them to their owners… and…"

"WHOA! WHOA! WHOA! HOLD THE PHONE, OJI-SAN! NO WAY!" Naruto shouted, crossing his arms in front of him dramatically. "I'm not doing one more D-rank mission until I see a C or at least a B-rank mission on that scroll!"

Anko sighed and folded her arms too. "To be honest, I agree with the gaki, Hokage-sama," she stated.

Sakura nodded her head in agreement, a frown appearing on her face. "All these D-rank missions are putting us off. We need to at least work out and put our skills to the test with at least a C-rank mission…"

Hinata shrugged, hands held up and fingers laced together. "I-I'm not that fussed…"

Sarutobi sighed and shook his head. "Goodness…" _"These four are going to make me bald…"_

"Pwetty Pwease Oji-san!" Naruto said, pouting cutely, with Sakura doing the same.

"**Pwetty Pwease!"** they said at the same time.

"Alright! Alright! Stop that," Sarutobi groaned, pulling out a random scroll from the C-rank pile. "Okay, here is a lucky draw!" The old Hokage tossed it over to Anko, seeing the woman catch it and open it. "One C-rank mission! You and two other Genin teams are to escort Miss Haru Hashimoto back to her country village in the North, the _Land of Bamboo Reeds_. She is of a wealthy family who rules the village and the lands, but has been brought here for protection due to an unfortunate uprising. Now that the uprising has been quelled, she has been called back to receive her inheritance and lead her village. So… what do you say?"

"Hell yeah!" Naruto exclaimed, pumping his fist.

"Whoosha!" Sakura also shouted, giving Naruto a high-five. The two of them grinned to each other.

Hinata smiled and looked at Naruto. "This'll be exciting, huh Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah! It will be!" Naruto replied.

"Well, there we go!" Anko said, pocketing the scroll. "What other teams do you want me to bring on this mission, Hokage-sama?"

"Offer the positions to Team Asuma and Team Kakashi to accompany your team on this mission," the Hokage said. "Kiba and Sasuke have been arguing for a C-rank, and Team Asuma needs to get more experience outside of the village walls. Perhaps you can bring Kurenai for assistance…"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Anko exclaimed with a smile.

But just before they were about to leave, a new voice shot up from Team 7, making everyone stop in their tracks.

"Wait a second! Wait a second!" Sakura shouted, waving her hands in front of her. "Why do we need so many teams on this mission if it's just a C-rank mission? Why does it require us to subtract such a segment from our overall shinobi force?"

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow, finding the question quite surprising. He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well… you may not like it if I told you, youngsters," the old man said.

"Go on! Fill us in!" Naruto exclaimed, standing beside Sakura for support.

"Yes. Please do," Hinata said, also accompanying Sakura on her other side.

The Hokage sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Very well then…here goes…"

* * *

_**An hour or so later…**_

_**Konoha North Gates…**_

"WHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAATT!!!" Naruto's yell echoed throughout the village, scaring the birds out of the trees and causing the Inuzuka dogs to howl at the sheer volume of the outcry.

Sakura and Hinata giggled as they watched Naruto stare gawking at the Jiao. The Jiao, or litter, is a human powered transport that requires the service of two to four men to lift the center chair, bed or portable room, either covered or not, by holding the pole(s) at their sides or on their shoulders. This one was a bed sized one with a futon, and was incased in a wooden portable with a roof, and locked doors. The elegant red veils over it concealed the royally designed view windows on the sides, front and back. Inside it, sat the silhouette of the young woman they were escorting back to the nation.

"I don't believe this!" Naruto shouted. "It's barbaric!"

"I'll say. My goodness!" Anko said, placing her hand on her chest in mock shock. "How can the Hokage make you endure such awful and brutal torture?" The woman then smirked and thumbed towards it. "You'll be one of the first to carry it…"

Naruto let out one of the loudest and biggest groans in his life, which Sakura laughed to and patted him on the back sheepishly.

"Don't worry Naruto-kun," she said. "This way, at least you'll be getting some good exercise!"

Naruto's face fell at this, and a sweat-drop appeared on his head.

Anko grinned and poked Sakura in shoulder, hard, which made her rub the spot to ease the jab.

"Don't you go teasing him, pinky!" Anko said. "Cause you're taking over after the first three miles!"

This time, Sakura deflated, and her face fell. Hinata just shook her head at the pair and they simultaneously hung their heads in shame and disappointment.

"So… when can we get moving?" the voice of the woman from inside her human transport carrier asked. Her voice was delicate and soft, matching the tone and feeling of the very veils that concealed her from the outside world. "I am most eager to get back to my village. It's been so long…"

Anko and the three Genin waiting turned towards the Jiao, the Jonin blinking in surprise before smiling at the silhouette.

"Such manners," she exclaimed, folding her arms over her chest. "Don't worry. When the other teams get here, we'll move out. Don't worry ma'am, you'll be back in your home village by the end of the day."

"Very well…" the woman replied, before silence fell.

The members of Team 7 waited patiently with their bags and their job, Naruto going to stand by his side of the Jiao, and Sakura and Hinata talking about different herbal remedies and healing techniques using palm oils. During this time, Anko pulled out a particular orange book and, with her back turned to her students, began reading and enjoying it.

It didn't take long for Team Asuma and Kurenai Yuhi to meet the team at the gates, with Ino, Choji and Shikamaru going to join their respective friends. Ino joined up with Hinata and Sakura, and the three began an animated discussion about boys, whereas Shikamaru and Choji shared some quality time with Naruto beside the carriage.

"Hey there Kurenai," Anko greeted the family raven haired woman. "How's it going?"

"It's alright!" the woman replied, hands on her hips. Asuma pulled up alongside her, also waving.

"Hey, Anko!"

"Hey!" The woman looked between the two, studying them closely and placing a finger on her chin in thought. The two blinked as the woman looked between them with that calculative face, and Kurenai only knew from experience with her friend that she was deducing something between her and Asuma, and that was not good.

"Uhh… Anko-chan?"

"Alright, spill it! You two are going out aren't you?!" Anko said, poking Asuma in the chest. "Come on buddy, don't just stand there blushing and gawking! I know you two have been hanging out an awful lot with each other. My eyes don't play tricks on me, and neither does my watch! Unless my binoculars are designed to be optical-illusional, a couple of nights ago I saw two silhouettes through the window of _your_ house, doing things that only a couple would do… knoc…!"

"ANKO! Shuuush!" Kurenai shot out a hand, clasping it over her friend's mouth and wearing an expression in a fashion similar to when Naruto was in an animated rush to put a clamp on something life-threatening. Catching Anko by the mouth with her hand, shutting her up, Kurenai looked behind her to see their students staring at them, apparently having been drawn to their conversation about 'Asuma and Kurenai being together', or something. Seeing that they'd stopped, the students returned to their own devices, while Kurenai rounded on Anko, looking rather flustered. "How many times have I told you not to spy on me and Asuma!" she hissed.

Anko took a moment to think, eyes looking upward and finger to her chin. She blinked as she thought, before looking back at Kurenai and grinning nervously. "I'm guessing this is the twentieth time…"

"Twenty-seventh!" Kurenai hissed, looking over at Asuma, who was standing there, cigarette hanging loosely from his mouth and face as red as a tomato. "You! Say something!"

Asuma shrugged. "Don't ask me! I'm no good in solving arguments when we're clearly backed up into a corner!"

"Ugh…" Kurenai dead-panned, before glaring back at Anko, "breathe a word of this to Kakashi or anyone else, and I promise you the next genjutsu I use on you will have you talking to a inanimate object for the rest of your life!"

Anko smirked. "Not possible…"

"Why not?"

"I know you; you're not as twisted as me!"

"Oh yeah!"

As the argument, and later discussion of the mission, continued on, we are moved back around to the boy's group over by the Jiao. Shikamaru, Choji and Naruto talked and laughed with each other, and Naruto slowly began to feel that perhaps this was what it was like to actually have friends that stay by your side for real, even against their parents' wishes. This made him feel grateful for their friendship and loyalty.

"You see, I always did like regular pork with rice, you know the red one, but add it with the juice sauce from stay to the rice, and add a side of Wonton noodles, and you've got yourself a wicked combo there!" Choji exclaimed, rubbing his stomach and licking his lips. "Boy, I could go for some of that now!"

Naruto also licked his lips, folding his arms and leaning against the side of the Jiao. "Yeah… boy that looks god in my head…"

"Either that, ramen, or women," Shikamaru pointed out casually, though it looked like he didn't mean it in a joking way. Choji just chuckled, while Naruto glared at him with a tick mark on his forehead against his headband. He thrust his fist at the boy, teeth gritted.

"Who asked you?"

"I only assumed…"

"Well, Mr. Fortuneteller! Maybe you can tell me how many seconds there are between now and when my fist connects with your lower jaw…"

"You won't do it…"

"You think I won't?"

"I know you won't…"

"Yeah?"

"Uh-huh…"

"ARGH!" Naruto growled pounding the side of his head with his palm. After doing that a couple of times, he poked an exaggerated declaration his way, jabbing his finger in his direction. The proximity made Shikamaru lean back a tad bit. "You're pushing it, buddy! Do you want to die young?"

"Meh…" Shikamaru shrugged.

Naruto then grinned and patted him on the shoulder. "Hey, I'm just joking…"

Shikamaru shrugged and smiled. "I knew you were all along. You're too easy to read…"

"Heh! That's why he can beat you at Shogi any day!" Choji exclaimed, pulling out a packet of kettles and beginning to munch on them. Naruto dead-panned, before rounding on his other friend with an animated, freak show expression

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

Naruto heard a giggle behind him and turned towards the Jiao he had been leaning against. He blinked, trying to peer through the veil and see whether the woman inside was spying or listening to them. However, incapable of being able to see through it, he shrugged and turned back to the pair, who also became a bit puzzled at the giggle. Unbeknownst to them, a bright, sapphire eye of the unknown girl peered through the window and at the spiky haired blonde.

"Oh! 'Bout time!" Anko groaned, throwing her arms into the air when she saw Team Kakashi walking down the road towards them. She sighed, and placed her hands on her hips. _"God, how did Minato ever train such a slacker?"_

"Hey all!" Kakashi said, waving with his right hand, while his left hand was preoccupied with his book. Sasuke, Kiba and Shino also waved, the three boys moving forward to join the others. The Inuzuka shook hands as he greeted Naruto, Choji and Shikamaru, and Sasuke just hung back with Shino. Shino, however, did greet Hinata and Shikamaru on his own terms, and once everyone was assembled, were called to gather around the Jonin, once they had discussed the mission with each other.

Anko took the stand, as she had been the one to receive the full mission specs.

"Alright, you filthy, disgusting, repulsive, weak maggots!" Anko began in her military march tone of voice. "Our mission today is a standard escort-and-body-guard-mission: A C-rank mission that requires us to escort Mistress Haru Hashimoto back to her capital village, in the Land of Bamboo Reeds. We will alternate between groups of who gets to carry the mistress every two miles, while the others will form a protective perimeter around the convoy! If any obstacles, the most likely we may encounter will be mercenaries and highway robbers, nothing more! We have assembled as this cell for not only practical, but educational purposes. Learn from experience! You hear me?"

There was silence at first, as the Genin stared at Anko, leaning back a bit as if she were some sort of giant loud-speaker booming at them.

"And… this psycho is your teacher?" Kiba whispered to Naruto. The blonde's hair spiked up and he clamped a hand over his mouth quickly.

"Shhhh!!! Don't let her hear you?"

"Seriously, this woman scares me," Ino said, trembling a bit on the spot.

"Pft, you don't know the half of it," Sakura replied.

"_This is going to be a real drag," _Shikamaru groaned.

"Hmm… this'll be interesting," Shino murmured to himself, followed by Sasuke 'hmph' of agreement.

"Alright, Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, you get to pick out the remaining three Genin that can carry the mistress," Anko said to the senseis behind her. The three of them nodded, stepping forward a bit.

"Kiba…" Kakashi pointed, while the Inuzuka dead-panned.

"Shikamaru, you're up!" Asuma pointed.

"_I knew it, it's a drag…" _Shikamaru thought.

"Sasuke… get going…" Kurenai said.

"Alright…" the Uchiha murmured, walking over to join the selected group.

Slowly, but surely, the four Genin lifted the Jiao onto their shoulders, adding on extra weight to their bags, and of course to the leg and wrist weights Naruto was already wearing. Once it was propped up and everyone was in formation, Anko led them on through the gates, grinning and obviously looking cheerful, with Asuma and Kurenai bringing up behind her, and Kakashi way at the back to make sure no one fell behind.

"Let's move it troops!"

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

* * *

**_Author's Note: _**I wanted to take the story in a different direction to the Wave Mission Arc, just as a starting mission. I have an idea I want to get out with more action and butt-kicking. Don't worry, the Wave mission will come right after this one...


	8. Familiar Territory

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Familiar Territory_

_**Later that day…**_

The group had stopped at a small stream somewhere on the Northern-East edge of the Land of Fire, close to the borders of the country. They had placed the Jiao under a tree, with several Naruto clones, Kakashi and Sasuke standing guard around the shade. The others were scattered around the place, sitting, standing or resting under trees. Kurenai was sitting with Hinata and Sakura, sharing an animated discussion, while Ino was with her two teammates, with Shikamaru coming up with different tactics they could use for their Ino-Shika-Cho combinations. Kiba was curled up under a tree with Akamaru, Shino perched in the tree above them talking to a leaf insect, and Asuma standing close by to Kurenai, keeping watch on the other side of the clearing. Naruto and Sakura, meanwhile, were sitting by the stream, sandals off and feet in the water.

The pair was engrossed in sights and sound of the land around them, Sakura's hand on top of Naruto's as the water gently flowed past their feet, and the breeze licked at their hair.

Sakura sighed. "It's beautiful, isn't it? The sky…"

"Yeah," Naruto exclaimed, glancing over at her. He watched as Sakura moved a hand through her long, flowing pink hair, and look back at him, seeing his smile. "But not as beautiful as you…Sakura-chan…"

The girl giggled and pushed him lightly. "You're so sweet, Naruto-kun…" Naruto grinned sheepishly at her, and Sakura couldn't help but blush at his look. "I'm…I…"

"Hmm? What is it?"

"I…I'm sorry…if I ever hit you, or yelled at you, or hurt you in any way… just because you were trying to help me, or be nice to me," Sakura looked away shamefully, with a frown. "I…I made such big mistakes… because I was wrapped too much in a stupid crush! It clouded my better judgment…blinding me. So much… that I couldn't see you for who you really were: a kind, caring, descent guy…"

"Sakura-chan…"

"I've been nothing but a moron… a weakling…" Sakura looked up at him, seeing his eyes staring considerately at her. "I… I've been stupid…"

"You're not stupid, Sakura-chan…" Naruto said, reaching up and running the back of his hand down her cheek, before brushing a few strands of hair behind her ear. "We just… make stupid mistakes…"

Sakura smiled, and placed her hand on his. "I don't want to make anymore then…"

Naruto grinned at her, and was about to say something else, but the two were interrupted by a shadow casting over them from behind. They looked around and saw Ino standing there with her arms crossed over her chest, and looking at them with a sinister grin.

"Getting cozy, are we?"

"Huh? Sakura looked a little taken aback, and blushed at the realization of her and Naruto's position. She quickly got up and slipped on her sandals.

"Hey there, Ino-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, earning a smile and a wink from said girl.

"Hi there, Naru-kun!" Ino replied, using a new nickname she developed for him. She then lunged at him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug, placing her chin on his shoulder as he looked at her in surprise. "Did you miss me? I haven't seen you in weeks…"

Naruto grinned in response, a little bit nervous, while Sakura fumed in the background. "Uhh…of course I missed you, Ino-chan!"

"He-he… I'm glad!"

"Get off of him, pig!" Sakura shouted, yanking Ino off of the boy's back roughly. Ino tried to fight back in process, but ended up accidentally pushing Naruto into the stream below. He fell in with a yell and a splash.

Both girls gasped and looked over to see if he was okay, and found to their surprise and amusement that Naruto was sitting in the shallow water, soaked and with a frog on his head, a fish flapping around in his shirt, and a Lilly pad on his shoulder. It was a pretty humorous sight, which prompted the two girls to laugh, followed by Naruto.

Behind them, the other Genin and Jonin looked on with either smiles or interest, while the eyes of the girl from inside the Jiao looked on from behind her veils.

"Alright kids, lets get moving again!" Anko shouted, ending their break. "We've still got a lot of ground to cover, and there is a possibility we might be setting up camp!"

Once again, the teams were up and running. Gathering up their gear and their person they were assigned to protect, they then, once again, began hiking. This time, it was Choji, Shino and a pair of Naruto clones doing the heavy lifting, while the ones who previously carried it were escorting.

Over hills and through forests they hiked, through fields, past farms, past small villages, cottages, and over the horizon they traveled. The clouds above moved with the wind, and the sounds of nature made the group feel at piece. But as they journeyed further and further into unknown territory, they began to feel a bit less at ease, yet couldn't contain their excitement.

"This is great! I can't wait to see this village!" Kiba exclaimed, thrusting his fist out. "First time outside of the borders of Fire Country! Wouldn't you say, Akamaru?!"

The dog resting in his jacket yipped happily, and sniffed the fresh air.

"You said it!" Choji agreed, while munching on a bag of Thins, humming happily to itself. "I really want to try out the buffets there. The exotic meat dishes, vegetables on the side, and the entrees!" The boy licked his lips in anticipation. "Mmm… I can taste the sweet dessert now!"

"How about you, Naruto? You lookin' forward to touring the village later on?" Kiba called over.

"Hmm…" Naruto murmured, hands at his sides as his eyes moved from left to right, looking for any signs of an enemy or strange obstacle. This response sort of surprised the other Genin, those who were hauling the princess in her Jiao looking between one another before glancing back at the boy, who was leading them behind Kakashi, Kurenai and Anko.

The boy sweated nervously as he walked, his eyes scaling the woods, and catching the scent of an upcoming village just over the next horizon. His senses were heightened to their fullest and, like a battle hardened Jonin who knew to expect anything around the next bend; he had a really bad feeling at the pit of his stomach.

Kakashi, who had switched places with Asuma so that he could bring up the rear, detected the usually boisterous boy's lack of delight, and decided to investigate his sudden change. Dropping back a bit, the man reading the orange book looked down at Naruto with concern.

"Are you okay, Naruto?" he asked. "You seem a little on edge… is something the matter?"

"Nothing, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto replied, looking up at the silver haired Jonin with his unmasked face. The older shinobi was met with the cold eyes of Naruto's real face, and couldn't help but blink at the look he received, which was one of a painful past, before watching the boy speed up in his walk. "I don't really want to talk about it. I've been to this area before, and I do not like it…"

Kakashi sighed when the boy left his side and shook his head. "Hell if I saw that look before," he mumbled, having seen Naruto's true nature a couple of times in the past.

Anko looked back a bit, seeing Naruto dip his head a little and lift his hood over his head, so that his eyes became overshadowed. This was a clear sign to her that there was something wrong, and she knew when to trust Naruto's reactions. She nodded her head and looked back towards the convoy.

"Everybody, stay sharp!" she called out. "No dilly-dallying until we reach the next village!"

As they journeyed on up the path running up the side of this steep hill, Sakura, Ino and Hinata were still engrossed in their previous conversation about the boys on their team. However, by the time they reached this next horizon, their talk had escalated a little more into something a tad bit extreme for their ages. Kakashi and Kurenai were fortunate to be listening in on their yammering, and couldn't help but smirk at the prospects had with this conversation.

"So, what do you think about your teammates, Ino?" Sakura asked, sizing up her friend and rival's expression with one of her own curious ones. "You seem to be getting along well with them!"

"Y-Yes… you three seem to be very cooperative with each other," Hinata exclaimed brightly. "You all seem to be the best of friends!"

"Tsk… heck if I know," Ino said, shrugging. "We get along fine, for sure! But I feel that we need to get our act together a little bit more, you know! We may have brains and strategy that are ideal for practical missions that require hard thinking, but we need more action and brawn to back that up!"

"What are you talking about?" Sakura replied, making a point with her hand gestures. "You've seen Choji; the guy's a power house. Your team has plenty of muscle, especially with Asuma sensei!"

"But when it comes down to just us three, we're really short-handed," Ino explained. "Sure, Choji is strong and all, but as far as action goes, there's not enough of it. Shikamaru brings us down right below naught, and Choji aimlessly follows him into it!"

"Okay then!" Sakura said. "But what about a more personal opinion, aside from them as being A-grade slackers?"

"Personally?" Ino replied, giving this more thought and swaying her body with the movements required. "That's all I guess. Even though I have to keep them in line, they are great friends. But putting aside all their great potential as a team and as individual shinobi, I don't think they can even compete with Naruto!" The girl clapped her hands together and looked upwards with a dreamy expression on her face and stars in her eyes. "He's such a dreamer…"

Kiba, who was standing a bit to the right and back, was within ear shot of this. When he heard it, he broke down in sniggers.

"Naruto-kun is not an object for you to ogle at, Ino-chan," Hinata protested. "He's a good, kind friend, and he will do anything to make sure you're okay and happy!"

"Anything, aye," Ino said, a smirk growing on her face. "Well, I'd trade places with you any day, just to go out on missions with _him_! Can you imagine it! More days and nights outside of Konoha's walls, with very little or no authority, and no parents! Think of the possibilities!"

Sakura and Hinata were almost appalled by the way Ino was speaking, causing Sakura to slap her over the back of her head. "You pig! We're not even sixteen and you're thinking about that?!"

"Hey, give me a break!" Ino shot back. "I can't help it if my mind likes to wander. I mean look at him. Most of the time Naruto's not even wearing a shirt under that jacket, and I didn't even notice his build until only a few weeks ago! Check him out! He's practically dripping with sex appeal!"

"Naruto's not an object!" Hinata stated again.

"Don't tell me you don't like looking up and down that big piece of meat, eh?" Ino whispered to her. "Come on, admit it! You like to look at him too when he's not looking at you…"

Hinata flushed brightly and looked away quickly to hide her embarrassment. "N-No I don't! How can you say such a thing?"

Ino grinned triumphantly. "Ha! Knew it!"

"Still, it is indecent of you to think of him that way!"

"Well, maybe not if it's just a little," Sakura added, blushing heatedly as well as her own thoughts started to betray her. She didn't give it much time either until now, when she really started to notice how well built Naruto was underneath that jacket. She had seen him without his mesh-shirt before, and it started to make her feel funny.

Blushing, she glanced over at him, seeing his back to them. "He's definitely not like Sasuke. He's much more built since he focuses a lot more on physical exercises then ninjutsu training…"

"And how would you know that, Sakura-chan?" Ino asked, smirking at her friend. Sakura stumbled a bit, and glared at the girl, fist raised.

"That's none of your business!"

"Sure! Then you won't mind if I cover up that hole in the side-wall to the men's hot springs then, eh?"

"WHAT!"

Kakashi sweat-dropped, while Kurenai just shook her head, as the conversation between the girls continued on. Kiba was still sniggering, wanting to eavesdrop more on this gossip, even though he was a little disappointed that they had stopped comparing guys and were just talking about Naruto. A little further down the convoy, Sasuke was idling back casually, hands in his pockets and not really paying any attention to the conversations going on, although he did exchange a few words with the Naruto-clone carrying one of the rear poles of the Jiao, balancing its weight distribution.

"Do your teammates always talk so loud?" Sasuke asked, slightly annoyed at the laughs and shouts he heard from the girls, though the details to him were inaudible.

"One is usually quiet, the other I get along really well with," the clone replied. "I think it's when the girls get together they're loud…"

"There's a stereotypical view of things," the Uchiha replied.

"Says you!" Naruto shot back.

"Hn…"

"Oh, don't stop because of me," Choji said to them from ahead. "I like where this conversation is going!"

"You just focus on carrying! Your side is leaning, and I hate having to try and balance it out! And my feet are starting to hurt!" the clone shouted and groaned.

The convoy trudged on further, till they reached the top of the hill they were climbing. As soon as they gathered at the top, they looked down towards the valley below, which inevitably ended at the sea. Here, they saw a sea-side village amidst a thick forest of trees, built along the beach front, where a vast array of piers stood built. It was a colorful town with rooftops and buildings stretching for quite a distance for an outskirt port. As trees covered mountains stretched high on the horizon, with the beach weaving and disappearing into them, the group could see boats of many kinds making port here. The fresh sea air whipped at their faces, and they could hear the distant caws of seagulls.

It was at this point, as the shinobi gazed out across the land in awe and interest, Naruto finally recognized the village and frowned.

He looked up at the Jonin senseis also admiring the scenery, and spoke in a very serious tone of voice. "We have to go around…"

The four Jonin present looked down at him in surprise.

"Why so, Naruto?" Asuma asked.

"This isn't a village for us to go through," Naruto stated, looking back down towards it. "_Shinjo Port_: a pirate town… a pier where travelers come and go, mercenaries look for trouble and where the black market thrives amidst the chaos of everyday life. I really detest this place…"

"How do you know this?" Kurenai asked curiously. "Have you been here before?"

"I came here with Ero-Sennin once on one of his trips…" Naruto stated. "For an eight year old, this wasn't a town I wanted to be in… the markets, the drugs; corruption… I even had a bad encounter with a few slave traders when I went off on my own. They thought I was another orphan to kidnap…"

"I see," Asuma replied, looking back down. "Either way, we can just go around the edge of town, and keep away from the markets. We need to rent an inn anyway so the mistress can get some sleep…"

"I wouldn't recommend it," Naruto muttered, turning on his heel and walking away, back to the carriage. His friends watched as he disappeared behind the Jiao, Sakura and Hinata looking on with concern as they watched the boy sit himself down on the rock, to listen and wait for a decision to be made.

"We can't let our client spend a night here," Anko said, furrowing her brow. "In light of these circumstances, I say we just move on through, get some supplies if we can, and go. We'll camp as soon as we're out of the town…"

"I agree," Kakashi said, looking at Kurenai and Asuma. "Besides, I think the locals will take far too much interest in a convoy moving a person of royalty through it. Stick close to it… and move through…"

Kurenai and Asuma nodded. Turning, they relayed their instructions to the Genin.

"Alright you lot, lets get moving," Anko said. "We're going to go through the town. Do not talk to the locals, and try not to wander off. I'd hate to have to be buy you back from any would-be-slave traders…" The woman muttered, hands in her pockets and began making her way down the hillside.

The Genin moved back into formation, this time allowing Sakura, Ino, Hinata and Shikamaru to carry the Jiao again, while the rest of them formed a protective circle around it. Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai made sure to stick closer to them this time, while Anko took the lead. While they moved down at the hill, Naruto shook his head and rubbed his nose with his fingers, trying to ignore the stench of serenity.

"_I'm starting to regret arguing with Oji-san for this mission…" _Naruto mumbled.

* * *

Upon arriving at the bottom of the hill and at the front gates of town, the group entered in through one of the many access points, which looked disturbingly similar to the entrance to Konohagakure, only with a few major differences. Number one, the buildings were much more colorful, and suited the description as more of a Western European design of village. The buildings were more run down, the roads were paved and more open to civilians, and street lamps, oil lanterns apparently, blended into the 1920's look of this backwater town.

The scent of fish, markets and foul play was immediately picked up by the would-be travelers, the Jonin looking around with expressions of focus and seriousness. Anko and Kakashi made sure to keep a grip around a hidden kunai in their pockets at all times, whereas Asuma was clenching one of his trench knives. The rest of the Genin were also on high alert, especially Naruto, who kept his hood slid over his head, eyes hidden away. Sasuke and Shino appeared emotionless as usual, Choji and Kiba anxious, with Akamaru who was getting a little sketchy and on edge as well. As for the girls, they stuck close to their charge-of-charge, and Kurenai kept a close watch on their students.

The moment they entered this place, they immediately felt a change in the air. Though a majority of people walking around minded their own business, such as merchants, business owners, and people with a purpose, there were however some in the shadows giving the group strange and considerate looks. Even those armed were staring at them. However, neither of them made a move, as there were some of the nation's soldier's on patrol. Still, if the opportunity came, there was a possibility that they would make a move.

Keeping away from the buildings and to the center of the road, the group of shinobi moved on.

"Well, at least there is some security here," Kurenai said.

"That's a welcome change," Naruto muttered.

"But don't feel too at ease just because there are law enforcers," Kakashi spoke up. "A lot of the guards you see walking around work for some powerful organizations; you can tell by the different dress codes. The real soldiers a part of the country's security and army are dressed in armor… see…" The Jonin said, pointing out a marching patrol walking in perfect formation, and led by a Captain, who had a more distinguishable outfit that designated him as the group's CO. The members of Team 7, 8 and 10 watched the soldiers march by them, the civilians making a gap as they walked on through. They also noticed another group of supposed 'soldiers' walking with the crowd, this group dressed more casually with their own form of clothing, but wore pauldrons, bandoleers and vests that designated them as a separate security force. They were also heavily armed like the guards, and maintained order in the streets.

"Those other ones work for clans powerful enough to own their own security force. But in these times, they remain as one nation," Anko stated.

"But why establish their personal security forces?" Sakura asked. "I mean, wouldn't the head village or leader of this nation fight against this build up in an opposing force?"

"This is more of a lawless part of the country, kid," Asuma explained. "In spite of the country's security forces, they are like a toothless tiger now, without a proper leader. This country doesn't have a leader anymore, thus prompting other organizations and former political advisors to squabble over the bits and pieces left for the picking from the downfall of the country's head. The clans had to form their own security for their own safety, in case a civil war broke out. They run the country together, alongside criminals and organization leaders, who are taking advantage of this time to make a quick ryo…"

"But once the mistress is returned to her home village and takes charge, will everything change then?" Ino asked.

"Probably," Shikamaru replied. "But it'll take a while till this country is back on its feet."

"Once law and order is properly established, you can bet that these cockroaches will run off and hide, and continue their business dealings elsewhere," Sasuke said, but then glanced over at Shino on the other side of the Jiao. "No offense Shino…"

"None taken," the boy replied, hands in his pockets.

They continued walking on through the crowd, as the area thickened with the scent of markets. Even keeping to the edge of town was proving a little too treacherous, as the buildings rose higher into the air, the crowds became more packet, and the noise from these crowds grew more and more. It was after a few more minutes of walking through the thick aired, yet beautifully crafted town, that they entered the edge of the small market district, which opened up at a central roundabout, and a large one. The buildings moved around it, plenty of space to build another five blocks, but were occupied by market stands, a damaged fountain in the center, and carriages.

They Teams saw the place was loaded with people, purchasing and browsing through stuff at the stands, and rick, autocratic like figures, as well as mercenaries, grouped around what looked to be salesmen at separate stands making bids. At these separate, darker booths, the crowds were grouped beside carriages towed by horses. These carriages had caged windows, and were heavily armored, and were flanked by their equally heavily armed guards. Most of these security figures looked more like the described 'separate security organizations' forces', but were instructed to guard a different kind of 'merchandise'.

Within the perimeter of guards, and what the rich, wealthy and other merchants were looking to purchase, were what looked to be prisoners, ordinary people, mostly women and orphans, chained up together, and dressed in rags. It looked like a chain-gang than anything else, only these people were exhausted, and beaten, obviously starved, and put on sale by the salesmen working for the organization specializing in this department. At the very sight of this, the Jonin averted a little to the left, keeping away from the carriages, and the people.

The Genin couldn't help but look, with many in the group rather bewildered at the sight.

"Are those… prisoners?" Hinata asked.

"No… they're slaves," Naruto replied darkly, glaring at the carriages as they moved around the crowd, who were screaming bids on the people they had lined up, like cattle. "This is nothing but a place where people have goods to buy and sell…"

"That's horrible," Ino murmured.

"I'll say!" Kiba growled, to which Akamaru gladly enforced with his own as they watched the salesmen auction off another two of these chain up girls to a satisfied buyer in the crowds, and have them carted off. "How can they; trading of human lives! It's sickening!"

"This is what happens in countries without a proper leadership," Shikamaru commented.

"Unlawful behavior, illegal shipping and trading occur," Asuma evaluated, the group stopping for a brief pause. "You're looking at a city that is undergoing a stage of deterioration. In our world, this sort of thing happens. It even occurred in many of the Hidden Villages as well, during and after the Great Shinobi Wars. Most of the villages managed to rebuild quickly to avoid takeovers and backlash from the war, mostly due to their still existing leadership that was in power. But those countries and villages with the leadership decimated, and left to pick up the pieces on their own; suffered. This is what happens to the broken, poor, homeless _and_ helpless. Without authority, in a world thriving with mongrels, divided clans and criminal organizations, you see the country deteriorate and eventually fall into chaos."

"It's been like this for years now," Anko noted. "With little thanks to us and to the remaining security forces still loyal to the Hashimoto family, they kept this place from going out of balance."

"The people however are still losing their homes, families and jobs, thanks to a leader not being able to take charge and command the people," Kakashi butted in. "But these things are eventually going to change…"

A couple of the Genin looked at the Jiao that Miss Haru Hashimoto was sitting in, watching the silhouette peer out the veiled and protected windows. They heard her sigh, and shift in her carrier.

"My people have survived on their own long enough," they heard her speak. "I cannot let my village, or this country fall into chaos and war. As soon as I am back at home, I will set things right, starting with this town. I give you my solemn vow!"

The Jonin nodded and, with their Genin teams, continued on. The convoy was up and on the move again, pushing through the crowds, and easing out of the market district, quickly entering a more residential area. Happy to get out of sight of those slave traders, the group could finally tread more carefully out of sight of any mercenaries, thieves, robbers of pesky dealers and merchants. However, after a few minutes since entering this area, Sakura, who had become more alert with the grouping and presence of the teams, looked around to check and make sure everyone was here. It then occurred to her that someone was missing.

"Hey, where's Naruto?" she asked.

Anko's head shot around. "Shit…"

* * *

Naruto was looking through the crowds, passing several weapons selling stands as he forced his way to the front of the slave traders. When he did, he scooted around, eyeing the carriage that had caught his eye. Stopping here, close to the back, he saw a lot of the slaves out of the carriage, most of them still chained up and in a line that led around to the front. However, there were several of them in cages, or still in the carriage they were transported here. Judging from the spaces, it was definitely not comfortable for them.

Here around the back, behind the auctioneer and outside of the crowd, the Genin walked around, hands in his pockets and eyes glaring with distaste at the conditions, and at the men possessing this area for their private market. He watched as a separate salesman led a rich autocrat flanked by bodyguards round the carriage, allowing him to inspect their 'stock'. He paused, standing amidst a couple of the cages containing some of the slaves, and not too far from the carriage.

Naruto walked up to one of the smaller ones at the foot of the carriage, this one containing a lone orphan, and crouched down next to it. This slave was chained up and sitting with her back against the bars of her cage. She had silky, raven black hair, though a little dirty and messy, and was younger then the spiky haired Genin. Quietly sitting in her holding, dirty, bruised and wearing brown rags, the only thing she could do was sit there, and ignore the hungry pains in her stomach. It was a deeply upsetting sight, to see a girl as young as her in a state like this, as well as hundreds of others surrounding Naruto in this area.

When the girl felt the presence of someone next to her cage, she looked up through her long, black locks, and gasped when she saw the stranger. Her response was immediate, quickly backing away from the boy, chains rattling. She nearly hurt herself in her haste.

The young ninja held out his hand to her. "Hey, hey… it's alright. I'm not one of them. I'm not going to hurt you…"

"Can I help you, young man," the voice of a man spoke up behind Naruto, the Genin standing up and spinning around. He met the face of a stout man with a scruffy brown beard and mustache, wearing a really strange hat with a cotton ball on the end of it. He wore basic, casual clothes suiting his profession, and yellow and black, striped slacks. Naruto was about the same height as him, maybe even a bit taller, and had to look down a bit to meet the man eye-to-eye.

"See anything you like from our stocks, sir?"

Naruto growled and pointed accusingly at him. "_Thing_? These are people you are selling! They are not just worthless products, goods, or objects! This is sick!" the boy growled angrily, before pointing to the cage behind him. "How can you keep her in here? You can't even stand up in this cage! And on top of that, she looks half-starved!"

"My boy, please, calm down," the man eased him, looking a little worried at his outburst. The salesman was also slightly taken aback at the look of pure anger blazing in the boy's eyes, and appearance they had taken. "I'm… just trying to make a living here. I apologize, but this is the best we can do to keep these people well fed and in good health on our budget. Our bosses won't allow for anything more…"

"Spare me…" Naruto said, looking back down at the girl looking up at them.

The poor child had become terrified at the argument and had backed away into the corner of the cage, staring up at the yellow haired boy with fear, and was trembling all over. In her slight shaking, her hair had parted a little, allowing Naruto to get a good look at her eyes.

It was with this glance; Naruto gasped and swooped down onto the cage again, causing the girl to jump slightly at his movement. He grasped the rusty bars of her enclosure, and tried to get a better look at her.

"N-No. It can't be…"

Looking into the orphan girl's eyes, the boy saw distinctive, rings with a light purple shade in her irises. These rings rippled out of a center pupil, and from Naruto's knowledge of doejutsu and ninjutsu, he knew what these eyes were.

"_Rinnegan? B-But how?" _Naruto thought in shock. _"The Sage of Six Paths was the only one who possessed them. Yet… this child…"_

"Listen son, if you're not interested in buying, then I suggest you leave before the guards come around and decide to shove you into one of these cages," the man said worriedly. "You either leave while you can, or fall into line like the rest of us… its how we survive here…"

"And to work and slave, and become someone's object for their sick, twisted desires is how these people are destined to survive," Naruto growled. "I refuse to let that happen to this one…" He stood up and turned towards the man, pulling out a brown bag from his pouch and holding it out to him. "I'll take her…"

The man held out his hands and took the bag. Opening it, the bearded man gasped when he saw the gold coins shining and glittering from inside of it, amounting to more than what many ryo dollars could add up to, to purchase a horse. He looked up at the boy, seeing him glaring at him.

"A-Are you sure, sir?" the man asked. "She may be young… b-but her eyes are a little strange. Maybe something…"

"No! This one is fine!" Naruto stated.

The man smiled and bowed. "Thank you, sir," the man replied. Quickly pulling out a key from his pocket, he let her out, and undid her chains so that she could move. The girl had a hard time standing, so much so that she fell, only to be caught by Naruto. To boy lifted her up and glared at the salesman.

"Do yourself a favor and quit to redeem yourself," Naruto said, walking away, and carrying the girl with him. The man watched the young shinobi strode into the crowd, and took some prolonged time to think.

Naruto pushed himself out of the crowd, forcefully, ignoring everything else, and followed the chakra signals of his shadow clones carrying the Jiao, and headed back towards the group. It was only when he was about to leave the market place, he suddenly bumped into a familiar face. He stopped by the side of the archway and looked to his left, where he saw Anko leaning against the brickwork with her arms folded and eyes closed. When she looked back at Naruto, she looked disappointed, but at the same time filled with a sense of pride.

"You know, you shouldn't wander off on your own in a place like this," Anko said. "Like you said… a lot of bad eggs…"

"I never said that," Naruto replied, looking up at her with his pained, dead-man's look, with that exhausted expression in play. "I said this place was Kami's asshole, but I didn't say that on top of the hill because I knew he'd send a bolt of lightning down at me for saying something like that. All that can reach me here is his farts and his fingers to scratch his ass…"

Anko sniggered and got off of the wall, walking over to the boy and leaning over a bit to take a look at the child he was carrying. "So… you picked up an orphan I see…"

"Yeah," Naruto said, looking down at the girl to see that she had her eyes closed and was sleeping. She looked very peaceful snoozing in his arms, her breathing at ease, and body relaxed. However, nothing could fully mask her wounds, the cuff marks on her wrists, and her physical fatigue. "I couldn't leave her in there, not in a cage only big enough for a dog…"

"So I saw," Anko replied, looking up at his face. "What are you going to do with her?"

"She can come and live with me when we get back to Konohagakure…"

"Sounds like a good plan," Anko said, patting him on the shoulder and leading him the rest of the way out of the market square. "You sure you've got enough money to support you two?"

"I've got enough to support a whole family for the rest of my life," Naruto stated, smiling up at Anko. "You'd be surprised how much I get around and earn at the same time…"

"Really? What's your annual salary?"

"About a 1000 ryo a day if I were to split a bill between hours," Naruto said. "I usually take up high bid jobs… but that's on a need to know basis…"

"Gottcha," Anko said with a nod, the two of them now walking down the road the shinobi convoy had gone down. In the time Anko had taken to find Naruto, and the time Naruto had taken himself, the Jiao was bound to have left town already.

Unbeknownst to the pair, as they walked down a now emptier street, a figure, dressed in a cloak with a hood over their head, and a white mask with a blue fire pattern on the left hand side, with cracks leading out from the right eyehole, was watching them from the shadows of a tea-house next to an inn they had just past. They didn't even notice the figure in the shadows, and the massive zangetsu sword at the person's side; about eleven feet in length with a thick blade, wrapped in white gauze straps.

Furthermore, on the forehead of the mask, was the symbol of the Village Hidden in the Mist, with a gash scarred into it.

Setting the tea down, the figure looked up, watching as the two shinobi went down the road, and out of sight.

"Konohagakure… eh?"

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	9. Masks

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Masks_

_**Late afternoon…**_

_**Sunset…**_

The Genin teams had stopped outside of town inside of the forest in a clearing. After walking for the whole day, they had gotten quite tired, and were now resting under the orange glow of the sunset on the horizon, the clouds disappearing as the sky dimmed, and the birds flying back to their roosts.

Within the clearing, the carrier containing the mistress had been set down close to the middle of the clearing, not too far from the glow of the fire Sasuke had set up with the help of Shino and Shikamaru, who had also helped gather the firewood. Choji, Ino and Kiba had added their contributions to the group by gathering some fruits, while Asuma and Kakashi set up some traps and alert wires around the perimeter of their campsite. Sakura, along with Hinata and Kurenai, had prepped each of the group's tents and sleeping bags for everyone, just quick ones that could be easily collapsed and packed away in seconds, just in case a rush was in need.

While everyone else had the setting up camp privileges, the Naruto clones had gone off to find some fresh water for them all, and soon came back carrying a large gourd of water with them. The teams watched as the Narutos brought it to the center of the clearing, and set it down a few feet out of the fire, and begun filling up everyone's drink canisters. Once everything was done, the groups gathered at the center of the campsite, with Kakashi taking up post beside the Jiao containing their charge-of-charge.

While everyone sat around and prepared for the night, Sakura caught someone approaching out of the corner of her eye and looked up.

"Hey, they're back!" Sakura said, waving towards the approaching Anko and real Naruto. Everyone looked up to see the pair enter the clearing, with the purple haired Jonin sealing up the only opening with her own traps on her way in, tossing a cluster of kunai down onto the ground, wrapped in tags and trip wires.

"What took you guys so long?" Asuma asked, watching as Naruto and Anko walked up to them. However, instead of stopping, Naruto walked by, carrying the girl away in his arms to the tent he recognized as his team's, and laid the girl down onto his pillow. Pulling out a small carrier scroll, he tossed it open, and while he was accessing its contents, was approached by his teammates. The rest of the Genin had also taken great interest in the new member Naruto had brought along with him.

"Who is this, Naruto?" Sakura asked, crouching down beside the girl as Naruto drew a blanket from his scroll, and laid it over her. His clones, following the telepathic orders from their host, got a cloth and socked it in water, before bringing it over to the tent and handing it to the real Naruto.

"Someone I freed from a life of chains and whips," Naruto replied, looking up at Sakura. "I found her in cage beside dozens of other slaves. I bought her out of there, so she could come and live with me…"

"T-That's very kind of you, Naruto-kun," Hinata said.

"I just wish I could have helped all of them out, though," Naruto replied, ripping the cloth he had in half, and placing the half he folded up onto the girl's forehead. He took the other one, and started wiping away the dirt and stains on her face. "You wouldn't believe the conditions…"

"So she's going to be living with you then, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Yup…"

"Do you have the proper accommodations for such a thing?"

"I've got a big apartment… I guess," Naruto thought. "She can use my bed… I don't use it anyway, and I've got the money. I'm not just going to abandon her just like so many others have."

"Well then, if that's going to be the case, I'll help you out," the pink-haired girl stated, shuffling over and checking the girl's pulse. At the same time, she did a full body scan, pumping chakra into her right hand and using it to check on her condition, placing it just over the girl's chest.

"That's… really not necessary…Sakura-chan…"

"But I want to!" Sakura replied, smiling up at the boy. "You're still a kid yourself, Naruto, and you've only ever really looked after yourself your entire life. You wouldn't really know how to take care of someone younger than you, especially a girl…"

"I'll help too," Hinata stated, smiling up at Naruto with a light coloration of red in her cheeks. "We're all friends, so we help each other out when somebody's in need…"

"We're also a team," Sakura said with a smile, looking up at the spiky blonde. "Supporting each other is one of the things we do…"

Naruto looked between the two faces of his teammates, seeing the sincerity of their statements and their offerings of help. This made his heart flutter, and he smiled at them. He reached up and lowered his hood, giving them all a few view of the gratefulness in his eyes.

"Thank you… Sakura-chan… Hinata-chan…"

They smiled back at him, before looking back down at the girl to continue checking on her. When Sakura had finished her checkup, she retracted her arm, the glow of chakra in her hand dissipating.

"She's fine," the girl stated. "She just has a few bruises, and is really tired…"

"She also must be hungry," Hinata said. "Look at how pale and thin she is…"

"Don't worry about that," Naruto said with a smile, looking up at the two clones he had managed to maintain these past several hours. "Go fetch us some fish… bring Sasuke and Choji with you. Disperse if something goes wrong…"

The two clones nodded and left the vicinity of the tent. With some arguments, they managed to drag Sasuke along with them, but had little trouble bringing Choji with them. Knowing where the traps were laid, they headed for the nearby river without much hassle.

"So, has the young lady got a name?" Asuma asked, arms folded and leaning lightning against the secured branch used to hold up the entrance to the tent. Naruto looked up and shrugged.

"I don't know… she fell asleep while I was carrying her here…"

"Well, we just can't be calling her 'that girl' or 'you' the whole time," Ino said, walking over and kneeling by the girl's head. She looked down at the sleeping girl, the sight of her sleeping so peacefully making her smile. "But she looks so adorable!"

"She sure is," Asuma said.

"That's not the only thing special about her," Naruto said, looking up at the Jonin with a small smile. "I'll tell you later when she wakes up…"

"Sure," Asuma replied, stepping aside a bit to let some of the other Genin through. Kiba and Shikamaru joined them, while Shino was staying back, keeping an extra eye on their client still inside of the Jiao.

Akamaru yipped and leapt out of Kiba's jacket, walking over to the girl and taking a sniff of her. The young pump then barked happily and licked her face. Kiba quickly picked him up before Akamaru woke her up.

"Whoa… down boy," the boy laughed, patting Akamaru to keep him quiet, while smiling up at Naruto and Hinata. "He says she's a nice girl…"

"How can he tell?" Sakura asked.

"He's got a really good sense of smell," Kiba replied, and shrugged. "Plus… dogs have more then just five senses. They can come in real handy when getting information on a particular person…"

Shikamaru sat down on the grass outside of the tent, looking at the dozing girl with a considerate look on his face. "Still, it's amazing that she's doing so well in her condition."

"They don't give them much," Naruto replied, he said, looking up at the whole crowd around him. "No medicine, very little food and water…their slaves are treated worse than cattle. I never want to go back to that port town ever again…"

"Neither does us," Sakura stated, with Hinata nodding in agreement.

"Well then that's decided," Asuma said. "Strong motion against returning to the town, our trip back will be diverted around it… though it would take a few extra hours longer…"

"It doesn't really matter, if we just avoid it altogether, no one else will have to become corrupted," Naruto explained.

After checking to make sure the girl was comfortable, warm and okay, Naruto pulled the blanket back over her and stood up, exiting the tent. His friends and those scattered around the clearing, watched as the blonde headed over to the very edge of the clearing and leapt up into the treetops, vanishing from sight. The rustling of branches, and the light fall of leaves indicated that he was headed into the forest at tree top levels, but for what reasons was unknown. It was quite an unexpected move…

Asuma blinked. "Well… that was a little bit strange…"

"Leave the boy be, Asuma," Anko called over from the fire, where she was roasting a marshmallow beside Kurenai and Shino. "He prefers being a mysterious character, and will often wordlessly leave for some place unknown. I've given up trying to adopt him and change his personality to fit normal society…he's just… like that…"

"He's not like anyone I've ever met before, I tell you," Asuma said, walking over to the group by the fireplace, leaving Sakura, Hinata, Kiba, Ino and Shikamaru to watch over the sleeping girl. "Kakashi is one such person, but he just goes off to read books and is always late, and Anko yo-u…" The Jonin looked at the woman by the fireplace, who was watching him patiently for him to complete his sentence. Asuma gulped, and decided it for the well-being of himself and his nads that he didn't finish. "Anyway, out of all of the ninja I know… he's the one with the biggest amount of questions surrounding him…"

"What? Like his history or something?" Anko asked, smiling at the Jonin who stopped right by the fire and crouched before it, warming his hands at its hearth. "Here's something for you to mellow over; I've only ever been able to witness brief glimpses of his past, mostly because I was involved in it. But even though I was assigned to protect him for a lot of his life, I was often called away on missions or to perform other duties for Konohagakure…"

"Protect him?" Sakura asked, looking up at her sensei.

"What do you mean 'protect him'?" Ino also asked. "He wasn't in danger, was he?"

"Best not for me to answer that," Anko replied, pulling up her marshmallow and sniffing it. "You can try asking him yourselves, but I for one wouldn't. He's had a really hard life. Perhaps even harder then that girl you see lying beside you…"

Sakura looked down at the sleeping girl, seeing that she had turned over and wrapped the blankets tighter around her, snuggling into whatever warmth she could unconsciously conjure up from it. All the ninja sitting around her had turned their attention back to the girl, and were eyeing her with thoughtful looks of concern. It wasn't just the thought of this girl's unimaginable, tragic past, but also one of Naruto's…

"Could it be…?" Ino murmured.

"That Naruto's life was worse?" Sakura finished.

"I mean… he's always smiling, and laughing, and acting like a total goof-ball," Ino said, looking up at Shikamaru and Kiba. "You two have known him longer, what do you know of him?"

"Not sure?" Kiba said, furrowing his brow in thought. "I mean… my dad always said for me to stay away from him for some odd reason, saying that he was a bad influence. For a long time I actually did what I was told, and believed what my dad told me, but…now that I look at Naruto for myself, he's not such a bad guy…"

"H-He's so kind, and is always happy," Hinata said with a smile. "I remember… he helped me out so many times, when I was training… encouraging me, believing in me, saying I should keep on trying. He encouraged me to do better and even helped me when I hurt myself…"

Sakura's head lowered at this, and she reached up with her hand, placing it on her forehead at the sudden ache she felt zipping down her body. It made her sick in the stomach, and feel ill, emotionally and mentally.

"_Damn it…"_ she thought. _"I was such a moron…"_

* * *

_**Flashback…**_

_An eight-year-old Sakura Haruno was sitting on one of the park benches, away from the rest of the children playing on the swings, slide and play structure, and the parents watching over them from afar. With her face in her hands, she sobbed quietly, her body trembling as she shed tears of hurt and rejection._

_Though this hadn't been the first time she was rejected by one Sasuke Uchiha after so many attempts of gaining his affection, the way he rubbed her off was much more hurtful then any of the times he had done so before. It felt like she had been struck full-on in the chest by a fist or a blade._

_Sakura had been sitting here for a while now, her crying now turning into sniffs and red eyes, as she tried her best to hide it. It wasn't long till someone, who had taken notice of her hurt, decided to act upon it in the most appropriate way possible, and approached her._

"_Hey there… Sakura-chan!"_

_Sakura turned around, and was met by the kind, friendly and lovable grin of Konoha's knuckle-headed trouble maker, Naruto Uzumaki. The boy grinned at her and held up eagerly with two hands a bunch of flowers. When the young pink haired girl looked down, she saw that it was a cluster of Cherry Blossoms, all neatly trimmed and tied into a beautiful bouquet with a pretty red bow holding it all together. She looked at it for a moment, and then looked back up at the boy, where she saw him beaming at her with hope and happiness gleaming in his eyes._

"_You don't need to be sad, Sakura-chan!" he exclaimed. "Here… I got you flowers! I know you'll like them because they're pretty like you, and they are the same color as your hair!"_

_To the boy's surprise, the girl's look changed to one that reflected her immediate annoyance of the boy, and snatching the flowers away from him, glowered._

"_Leave me alone, Naruto!" she shouted. "I said before that I don't like you! Now go away!"_

"_B-But… but Sakura-chan!" Naruto stammered, tears welling up in his eyes. "I-I got them… just for you…"_

"_I don't care!" she shouted, turning her back on him, wiping away her tears. "You're annoying! Now leave me alone! I don't want to see you again!"_

"_S-Sakura-chan…" the boy looked down defeated and, hiding his own tears as best as he could, ran away crying. He only turned back once to see what Sakura did with his flowers, and found to his utter dismay that she had thrown them into the garbage._

_The girl didn't look back or think twice about the boy and the gift he had given her, and simply stormed off to think about how to gain Sasuke's affections again, after the try and fail she just had today. Her resolve was replenished once again, but in that development, had broken the heart of the one who tried to cheer her up._

_She completely missed the sight of Naruto running over to the garbage where she had thrown the flowers, where he picked them up, and ran off…_

_**End Flashback…**_

* * *

Sakura lowered her head even more, her eyes overshadowing, and her hand fisting into the sheet of futon she had managed to grab.

"I was such a big… stupid… moron…" she muttered to herself, causing Ino to look up at her curiously.

"What was that, forehead?"

Sakura, who would usually get wound up by that nickname from her arch rival, just sat their, head-hung and silent. She shook her head exhaustedly, not even looking up when she answered.

"N-Nothing…" Sakura replied.

"Well… if I know Naruto," Shikamaru said, looking up at the group. "No matter how many times you look at him, whether it is deeply or not, you can always tell he's wearing a mask… to hide his real face…"

Kiba nodded in agreement, and Akamaru also yipped at this. "I know. These days… most of his smiles and stupid grins he puts on… you can tell they're fake! It's messed up, I tell yah!"

"But what can he possibly hide?" Ino asked, looking up at them. "I mean, sure… I've noticed something was slightly off about him. He always acted like a total goof back at the academy, even when I met him when we were nine. He wasn't anything special either; low grades, talentless… no genius at all," the girl described, before coming to her self evaluated question. "However, I always knew there was something more about him then smiles and pranks… something deeper…"

"Maybe it's something you won't like," Kiba said, giving the group a thoughtful look over. "I mean, I've seen stuff similar to a mask used like that before. My mother… though she seems a bit tough and scary at times, I know that she's just using that demeanor to set us straight, and to discipline members of my clan appropriately. She's especially strict towards me! But sometimes… when I'm wandering the house, I sometimes catch her in the lounge room looking at some pictures with this really sad look on her face… you know… like one of those expressions from years of being upset…"

"Naruto can't be like that," Ino replied. "He's got too much energy, and he's always training and focusing on his ninja career, and not to mention ramen. Face it; he's too busy to worry about something as tedious as a bad life…"

"Stuff like that is too complicated to explain," Shikamaru pointed. "A past isn't something you can get rid of. It's not like a broom to footprints. More like, these footprints have been made and set in concrete. It simply takes someone with the right tools to get a full imprint of what that footprint can tell you…"

"But this is Naruto we're talking about," Ino began again.

"That's precisely the point," Shikamaru said. "I don't know him as well as I want to, but when I look at him, I see he's got a lot of weight on his shoulders… burden and living…"

"Naruto's strong," Hinata said strongly, smiling up at the group. "I know that if we talk to him, we can help him…"

"Not now though," Kakashi said, appearing before the entrance of the ten so suddenly, looking down at the surprised group. Obviously, the man had overheard the whole conversation, and was now contributing his advice to the discussion, hands in his pockets, and standing casually. "Listen to Anko; don't get involved at the moment. If Naruto wants to talk about it, he will. We just need to give him some space…"

"Maybe it's the space that we have been giving him that's made him like this," Sakura said, walking out of the tent. Her statement surprised Ino, Shikamaru and Kiba, while impacting on Kakashi like a brick to the face, shooting him down. Sakura looked up at the silver-haired Jonin, eyes red, and tears streaming down her cheeks. "I've seen his face before… and it hurts just thinking about what that expression reflects…"

Sakura then walked off, leaving the rest of the group to contemplate what has been discussed, and what had been spoken.

Sasuke, Choji and the two Naruto clones eventually came back with a bunch of fish, and assembling around the fire along with the others, scaled them and roasted them over the fire. Along with steam rice, they had a nice, quiet dinner, at the same time, offering the Mistress some, leaving them outside of her Jiao.

When night fell, the teams cleaned up their plates and other assorted materials, before heading to their tents and hitting the sacks. Kakashi had first watch, sitting and tending the fire, watching over the Jiao closely, as well as checking on the new girl, who was still sleeping soundlessly.

However, as good a ninja a Jonin seemed to be, he or she would always, at times like this, overlook something, and Kakashi failed to notice a faint shadow exit the Jiao, and dash into the bushes, leaving her post with no regard for the trouble she could get into while outside of the safety zone…

* * *

Meanwhile, Naruto was perched up in the treetops overlooking the clearing, hood pulled over his head and a calm expression on his face as he watched over his teammates, Sakura and Hinata, sleeping peacefully beside the girl he rescued. He watched the girl snuggle into her covers more, and fall into a deeper sleep, the smile she wore at finally being able to snuggle into a comfy futon making Naruto's heart flutter.

Chuckling, the boy looked around and up towards the tree tops above him, seeing the night sky high above in the heavens, glistening like a beautiful jewel. The stars Naruto gazed at twinkled brightly, and the faint trail of a shooting star streaking overhead made the boy smile even more, as he knew the universe was speaking to him. He closed his eyes and smiled.

"_Just like Pervy Sage said… 'The greatest gift to us is life itself, and it is our duty to protect it, to preserve it, and it is our privilege to enjoy it…'…"_

It was then he suddenly became aware of another presence sitting nearby, and his eyes opened in response. He looked down at the corresponding branch to his left hanging over the campsite, and sitting on the branch just beside his, sat a new figure. It was a woman of course, and she sat up in the tree with him quietly, gazing at him solemnly and with great interest. It was only from a quick inspection, and a brief flash to the past, Naruto saw that she wasn't as old as he first thought…

The woman was a young priestess, around his age, with long black, silky hair, combed nicely, and she wore a white kimono with a bit of purple under it, and a red and yellow belt holding it up. She also wore the royal color of red in baggy pants, and wooden sandals. In her hair, she also had an ornament of bellflowers, which brought out her look magnificently. Her overall image was one of grace, beauty and distinction, and she also looked very stunning in Naruto's eyes. The only thing he could not see as yet was her face, which was covered by a white mask with a red snake on left hand side.

As she sat there gazing at her, Naruto chuckled and looked back up into the sky.

"Why did you change your name, Katsumi? It's a little bit funny hearing the name Haru Hashimoto…"

The girl giggle and, standing up, balanced her walk over to the boy and perched on the same branch right next to him, making him adjust his position a little so she could sit next to him.

"I know using that name is confusing, even for me too! But it's necessary for my own protection. The Hokage insisted upon it," the girl replied.

Naruto grinned at her, leaning over and poking her in the forehead of her mask with his finger tip gently, before moving his hand over in admiration of the mask she wore. He had immense familiarity with this mask, and smiled graciously at her.

"You're still wearing that mask I got you for your birthday…"

The girl nodded, and reached up, gripping the base of the mask and lifting it up onto her head. Underneath that mask, Naruto saw her real face, bright red eyes, a perfectly shaped nose, and an angel's smile. Of course, her whole look was angelic in appearance, and the sight seemed to brighten his day.

"It's got sentimental value," Princess Katsumi exclaimed, beaming at him. "You were my first best friend in Konohagakure, and you got this for me on my first birthday I invited you over…"

"I was the only one who showed up," Naruto said.

Katsumi's smile widened. "That's because I wanted to invite you and only you," she exclaimed, scooting over. "And that's why I want to keep the mask and wear it all the more…"

"That's nice, Katsumi," Naruto exclaimed, looking back up into the sky again. Katsumi smiled and crawled along the branch the rest of the way over to him. When she was right up next to him, she wrapped her arms around him in a hug, and snuggled into him. This movement slightly surprised Naruto, but he accepted her with a smile and a sigh.

"You were always so good to me," she whispered, closing her eyes. "I'm glad the Hokage assigned you to protect me…"

"And I'm happy to be guarding you too, Katsumi…"

"There is no one else I can trust more than you…"

Naruto chuckled. "I get that sometimes…"

Katsumi grinned up at him and nudged him in the shoulder ever so slightly. "I'm being serious, dummy…"

The boy grinned a bit, before glancing down at the campsite again, checking on his teammates in their tent, and the little girl lying in the folds of her futon, snuggled up and warm. He watched her for some time, with Katsumi following his eyes to the girls in the tent, and spotting his focus almost immediately. Nodding in understanding, she looked back up at the spiky blonde ninja and prodded him to get his attention.

"You did a great thing, you know…"

"Though it's not much, I can only hope to be able to fill in the missing piece in that girl's life," Naruto explained quietly. "I want to give her a better life… I want to be able to take care of her, and help her…"

"Well, I'm sure you'll do fine," Katsumi said, rubbing his chest gently and soothingly. "I understand what you've gone through… and what you're going through…"

"Really…?"

"Yes," the Princess replied with a smile. "Like you, I wear a mask to hide my face, mostly because I find serenity and peace inside of it. I was always alone like you… I lost my family in conflict… heck… I barely even knew them. I've lost a lot of people I could have called uncle, or grandma… or family, and I never had any friends…" She looked down a bit in hurt, and gripped his jacket in her fingers tightly, moving closer to him. Naruto blinked as she laid her head against his shoulder. "The only one I had was you. I wanted you to be my friend, for both of our sakes…"

"Drowning in pity and sorrow is a blatant reason for such actions," Naruto said in a whisper. "You followed your heart, and trusted yourself… you knew better, Katsumi-chan…"

"I did know better," Katsumi said, looking up at him. "I knew you were different from everybody else, but I never belittled you for it, or saw you as someone I wanted to stay away from. I never saw it, nor sensed it. You are kind, friendly, and always happy… even now, I can see it in your eyes…"

Naruto chuckled. "Always could read me better than anyone else…"

Katsumi smirked, and poked him in the chest. "You know it, buster…"

"So much for the graceful princess to start talking like a tomboy," Naruto commented, shrugging and putting his hands behind his head, and rested back into the tree. "You're strong… I can tell…"

"Like when I kicked your butt the last time we fought…"

"We were ten, and I was just playing…" Naruto replied casually. "Plus, kicking someone in the gonads isn't really fair…"

"Alright, it was a tie," Katsumi resigned, letting out a breath of air. "I can still defend myself now though. You weren't the only one training to get stronger and protect others…"

"You've been training…?"

"Everyday…"

"What jutsu do you know?"

"Genjutsu mostly, potent ones too, but I also know some good ninjutsu…"

"Well that shows just how different you and I are from each other," Naruto stated. "I'm abysmal at genjutsu, but I know tons of ninjutsu and taijutsu moves. However the what is and the how is a secret…"

"Phooey…" Katsumi mumbled.

"Hey… behave. OW!"

Katsumi giggled.

"Did you just pinch my butt?"

"What do you think?"

"That's it," Naruto exclaimed, and started tickling her. The girl laughed, and bit the sleeve of her kimono in a futile attempt to suppress it. It came out in muffled shrieks and shaking giggles. Soon, she was at his mercy, pinned and being tickled. It was in the midst of their little playtime as old friends that Anko was standing beside Sakura and Hinata's tent, hands in her pockets and looking up at the pair playing around with each other, laughing, joking and talking.

The Snake Jonin smiled at the pair, this being the first time she had really seen Naruto smiling, without the need of a mask.

"Hm… that's my gaki…" _"It'll take some time, but by the time the other girls' hearts warm his up, I can be guaranteed a new Naruto…" _the woman thought while glancing down at her other two Genin. She smiled at them. _"I sense a change in the air. You two girls are sure to make him a happy husband…"_

"I know that look… please don't use it," a new voice exclaimed and Anko glanced around, seeing Kakashi walk over and look up to where Naruto and their client were. He sighed and shrugged. "Never thought they knew each other…"

"You'd be surprised how many people Naruto does know," Anko replied, looking back up at the branches. "Give him some credit for being a very influential person…"

"That boy has the power to change people, and the world…"

"It's a blessing among us ninja, but you can expect tough times head," Anko evaluated, grinning at the silver haired Jonin. "And you can bet that I won't miss a single second of it!"

Kakashi smiled back at her through his mask. "You know, I think it will be fun…"

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	10. Meet the Enemy

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Meet the Enemy_

_**The next morning…**_

The sun rose up over the mountains, the orange haze and clouds' drifting over the sky was like the eye of Kami itself was opening to the waking world. The singing of birds and the warm, welcoming arms of the rays of sunshine was the perfect cup of coffee for the people living in the surrounding lands.

Everyone was up and about once more, packing up their tents and sleeping bags, and getting ready to move out. A lot of the Genin, especially Sasuke, Shino, Shikamaru and Kiba didn't really need to prepare themselves for the journey since they had slept mostly in their present attire, and along with Kakashi and Asuma, helped pack up the camping gear and turning them over to their designated backpacks. It took just that much longer for the girls to get ready, fixing up their hair, adjusting their uniforms correctly, the usual for a more comfortable journey. The boys didn't care much for appearances and just got ready the old-fashion way; unkempt and untidy.

In the end, the only tent that was left set up was Naruto's tent, where Sakura and Hinata had spent the night, along with their extra company. Anko, who was not much of a morning person herself, had taken the liberty of spending the extra half-an-hour given to brush her teeth, have a cup of coffee, slip into her ninja outfit, and in her semi-conscious state, get dressed. Everyone was careful not to tread on the still sleeping girl Naruto had picked up as they entered and exited the tent.

Once everything was packed, the group gathered around the last tent standing, where they watched Sakura and Hinata try to gently wake the girl on the futon and under the sheets up. They didn't crowd around as much, so instead took up a mere scattered audience forming a semi-circle around the epicenter of focus. Kakashi and Kurenai stood by the Jiao, watching over the client, and at the same time overlooking the commotion that was focused on the girl snuggled up in the sheets of Team 7's tent.

Naruto managed to get past to the front, and knelt down beside Sakura, Hinata and the girl they have, up to this point, unsuccessfully have tried to wake up. The blonde haired Genin looked up at Hinata.

"How is she?"

"She seems to be doing alright," Hinata replied in her usual, soft spoken voice. "Her wounds have recovered remarkably fast, and she seems to be responding well to her new conditions."

"I'm guessing it's the first time she's slept on a real futon in a long-long time," Sakura continued, smiling up at her male teammate. "You must have some really good mattresses Naruto…"

Naruto smiled and shrugged. "I just get what I think feels the best…"

"So Naruto!" Kiba exclaimed from where he stood, arms folded over his chest and Akamaru perched happily on top of his owner's head. "What else was so special about this girl that you decided to save her?"

The recipient of this question glanced up at Kiba with a more hardened expression then usual, and replied in earnest. "Firstly, I would have saved her even without that viable reason… it was the right thing to do, and I couldn't just leave her in there…" He looked back down at the girl and placed his knuckles gently against her cheek, and rubbed it soothingly, causing the girl to stir. "Secondly, this girl possesses a legendary doejutsu…"

"Really?" Shikamaru asked.

"Which one is it, Naruto-kun?" Ino asked, this new topic also catching the attention of Sasuke, Kakashi and those others who were more into the waiting and watching than the anticipation of a special technique.

"Is it a Sharingan or a Byakugan?" Shikamaru asked, letting out a sigh. "Just what we need… what a bother…"

"No…" Naruto said, glaring up at the group seriously. "She possesses the Rinnegan…"

There was a moment of silence that carpeted over the surrounding group, as everyone attempted to process this new information. When it eventually settled over everyone, Kakashi was on his feet, and the Jonin standing around were in reasonable shock, including Anko.

"What?!" Kakashi said loudly.

"A Rinnegan barer?" Asuma added. "That's impossible…"

Kiba snickered. "You sure you weren't hallucinating or something Naruto? Maybe you were just dizzy from all the carrying you did with the Jiao…"

"It was no hallucination…" Naruto said, looking round at his two teammates to see them staring at him in shock. He gave them a look of pure honesty and seriousness, and they knew immediately from just looking into his eyes that he was telling the truth. Sakura and Hinata nodded their heads at him and they looked down at the girl as she began to wake.

Everyone present held there breath and even edged in closer, leaning in anticipation for the girl's eyes to open. They did, fluttering open to meet the morning rays of sunlight, and give off their shiny glow. The tint of purple, surrounded by the black ripples made a Choji, Shikamaru and Hinata back off slightly at the sight of them, and awed the rest of the group. Kurenai and Anko blinked in surprise when they saw the rings in the eyes, and its distinctive, definite features. Though her eyes were half-lidded, everyone could see them, and Naruto smiled when he saw the girl look in his direction.

He grinned at her and gently ran his hand over her cheek. "Hey… morning sleepy-head…"

The girl blinked when she recognized the hazy outline of the boy who had carried her out of the stocks. She knew who he was immediately, and in response, smiled. She then slowly glanced around to her other side, and immediately when she saw the numerous other, unrecognizable faces looking at her. Her response to this sight was also highly instinctive.

The reaction was instant. The young girl let out a gasp of surprise and, scurrying out of her sheets, immediately leapt at the boy she knew saved her and hugged him to her, burying her face and hiding herself from view. It shocked Naruto and everyone else, and the blonde couldn't help but grin nervously at what had just happened.

The girl holding onto him for dear life scooted around him, while still hugging him tightly, and moved as best out of sight of the other strangers standing around. Naruto didn't know exactly how to respond to this, but eventually came to his senses of what was happening, and opted upon them. However, because she was literally behind him, he couldn't do anything but try to get her back around him.

Ino smiled and, getting on her hands and knees, crawled over to get a better look at her. "Aww… she really is adorable!"

"She's also really shy," Kiba exclaimed, glancing round at Hinata Hyuuga. "Kind of reminds me of somebody…"

Hinata developed a tick mark and she glared at Kiba. "Watch it, Kiba-kun," she growled in a surprisingly threatening voice, making Shikamaru, Kiba and everyone else look at her and blink, even Sasuke, who had recognized Hinata as the quiet, sensitive type of person from the academy days. "Don't push your luck…"

"_Yikes,"_ Kurenai thought, glancing round at Anko who was smiling proudly at herself. _"Perhaps hanging out with Anko and strong friends has given her some back-bone. I bet Hiashi Hyuuga would be proud of her…"_

"She sure is a cute little-one," Asuma exclaimed, stepping forward and crouching in front of Naruto, Ino and the girl hiding behind the young male who saved her. "What's your name, missy?" the Jonin asked the girl.

She peered around from Naruto, up at the smiling bunch of people. Blinking curiously, she glanced up at her protector and savior, who smiled down at her kindly.

"Go on… what's your name?" he asked.

The girl smiled at him, blushing under his kind gaze and sparkling eyes. Her own Rinnegan eyes glimmered under Naruto's. "M-My name is… H-Haru…"

"Haru?" Naruto said with a smile.

"That's a lovely name," Sakura said, peering into the tent and smiling at the group. "Little Haru."

"I'm Naruto," the blonde introduced himself, thumbing himself in the chest in emphasis, before directing the young girl's attention to the rest of the gang. "This is Ino… the girl next to me, and Sakura standing in front of you. The big guy is Asuma…"

The girl looked from person to person to who Naruto gestured towards. Their names burning into her mind, Haru continued to follow the boy's directive hand-gestures, and came to memorize each and every person standing around the tent.

"That one wearing the grey, fur jumper is Kiba, and that's his dog, Akamaru. And next to him, the orange haired guy, that's Choji," Naruto said with a smile, before turning to the others. "The one with the pineapple shaped hair-style is Shikamaru, the purple haired girl is Hinata, and the two smile-less ones are Shino, the guy with the glasses, and Sasuke…" Shino's sunnies flashed at this remark, whereas Sasuke just grunted and looked away disinterested. "The silver-haired guy there is Kakashi, the red-eyed woman is Kurenai and the other lady over there, my sensei, is Anko!"

"Yo!" the woman exclaimed with a grin. Haru ducked further behind Naruto at the sight of the woman, which made her sweat-drop in surprise. She looked over at Kurenai. "Am I really that terrifying?"

"What? No, no, no… no-no-no…" her friend exclaimed nervously. The look on Anko's face, however, told the raven haired woman to either 'spill it' or 'I'll make you'. The young Jonin shrugged. "Well… maybe a little…"

"Uh-huh! Sure! Whatever," Anko said with a groan, glancing round to her right aimlessly. "That's what I get for being so nice…"

"Says you!" Naruto called over. "You sent a Cobra once every two weeks to me and shoved it into my mail-box, and set it to grow to the size of a building and attack me the moment I went to collect my bills!"

"But Sheila misses you so much," Anko called back. "I'll arrange another play date for you two; it'll be good for your relationships with my summons!"

"Hey… w-what… no!"

Kiba could help but burst out laughing, along with Choji, whereas Sakura, Hinata and Ino fell into a fit of giggles. Another set of giggles joined them and Naruto looked down at the little Rinnegan girl still hiding behind him. She smiled up at the blonde and smiled at him lovingly.

"Naruto-kun is funny!" she exclaimed, earning a surprised blink then a small smile from the boy. He ruffled her hair, earning a smile and a light blush from the girl before Naruto turned his attention towards the others.

"We'd better get going now… we're a bit behind schedule…" Naruto said, rising to his feet, bringing the little girl with him. He smiled as she perched on his back, and she smiled back at him in kind, everyone following the young man's lead and getting ready to head off. "I'll help with the final preparations…" With that in mind, Naruto slapped his hands together into an all too familiar hand-sign, and with a grin, puffs of smoke shot up outside the tent. "Shadow Clone Jutsu…"

Naruto's physical copies then went about, collecting everybody's bags and handing each of them to their respective recipients, before moving to, and packing away the remaining collapsible tent. Once it was packed, and everyone was carrying their weight, under Anko's instructions, formed into their convoy once again, this time with the three girls and a Naruto clone to carry the Jiao, while the rest of them formed a protective circle around their charge-of-charge. Within minutes, the group set off once more, in perfect formation.

* * *

_**Some time later…**_

"Ah, stupid mosquitoes!" Anko grumbled, slapping the side of her neck, before looking at the mashed remains in her hand of the once, rather large bug that had dried to drink her blood. She winced at the sight and wiped the excess blood and bug entrails on her jacket. "Why do they find me so appetizing?"

"Oh, maybe it's because you keep eating dango like it was a prescribed medicine," Kurenai exclaimed cheekily, giving her friend a grin. Anko glared at her.

"Well, excuse me miss 'I know my insect biology so well', but why aren't you being eaten alive by these little mongrels?!" the woman growled, slapping her neck again as another mosquito decided to have a go at her.

Kurenai shrugged, before thumbing over at Shino. "Ask Kakashi's student over there, he should know a thing or two about bugs. He is, after all, from the Aburame family…"

"Well shades? How do I get them to stop pestering me?"

Shino's eyes flashed at her remark about his sunglasses, and for a fact that he hadn't heard that nickname in a while. The boy simply lowered his head and, with an emotionless expression, shrugged. "Say _please_…"

Anko shot him a look. "Say that again…"

It took all of those around the convoy with a sense of humor to not burst out laughing, these being Naruto, Kiba, Sakura, Ino, Choji and even Asuma. The real Naruto, who was carrying his little passenger on his back, had to bite his bottom lip to stop laughing, while the girl just looked curiously down at the boy at his strange expression. Kiba literally had to stick his hand into his mouth, Choji pretended to choke on a mouthful of Kettle chips, Sakura and Ino just giggled lightly to vent out combustion, and Asuma pretended to cough on his cigarette.

"Mosquitoes, in this case, are usually attracted to the sugar in the blood. They can smell it wafting off of your body," Shino explained, not at all worrying about the threatening glare Anko was giving him from the head of the convoy. "I recommend some deodorant, or, unless it is purely a medical concern, consult your personal doctor…"

"Can't you tell them to buzz off?" Anko grumbled, swatting at another one that landed on his lower arm.

"I would, but they've got issues when you swat their brothers and sisters," Shino stated.

"ALRIGHT! THAT'S IT!" Anko growled, pulling out a dozen or so senbon needles and beginning to throw them at individual insects one after another, managed to cap a few while the rest of the needles thrown flew off into the forest surrounding the path they were following. The convoy had to stop for a bit while Anko furiously lashed out at the attacking insects. It was a pretty amusing sight from the group's point of view as Anko danced around, attacking millimeter sized insects one after another.

Ino leaned over to whisper to Sakura holding the other end of the Jiao up. "Should we try and calm her down?"

"I wouldn't recommend it. Better not risk your life for something so tedious," Sakura replied.

"Does your sensei always act like this," Shikamaru also asked, having leaned into the conversation at the awkward sight in front of them.

"Well… yes and no. She's usually more sadistic then this…" the pink haired Genin replied.

"Mmm… this is getting kind of interesting," Choji exclaimed, at the same time continuing to gorge on his packet of Kettles. He smiled over at Sasuke, who was accompanying him around the back, where they could get a full view of the commotion at the head of the convoy. "Who do you think will win…mmm? Mosquitoes… or the crazy Jonin?"

Sasuke glanced at him strangely, raising an eyebrow.

After Anko calmed down, the group kept on moving. It was after a few more minutes the convoy was in motion did everyone else begin to feel the sting of mosquitoes. The deeper they went down this trek, the more mosquitoes showed up, and soon, almost everyone was slapping at their bare skin vigorously, in an almost rhythmic fashion to rid themselves of the flying parasites. Naruto had to blow them off of him, since his hands were preoccupied with securing the girl on his shoulders. Although, Haru was fairing much better, as she was able to wave the swarms of pests away. She cutely groaned and murmured as she swatted the mosquitoes away. Naruto's clone, however, faired even less against he insects. Everyone was getting eaten alive…

"Hey! Are we getting closer to a swamp, or a lake, or something?" Ino asked, slapping the back of her neck.

"These guys are beginning to be a real bother!" Shikamaru grumbled, waving his hand ahead of him lazily. "How troublesome…"

"Seriously, Shino… do something about these friends of yours, would you?" Kiba asked, waving away a cloud of mosquitoes that suddenly flew in front of him, Akamaru taking a snap at them, which parted funnily around his muzzle.

"Fine…" Shino mumbled. Slapping his hands together, he formed a series of hand signs. Then, as if he had just performed a Wind Release Jutsu, the cloud of mosquitoes dispersed outwards from Shino's center, and soon the air was clear, and the group was safe from further onslaughts. Everyone sighed in relief, especially those who had been bitten worst.

"Bout time," Choji groaned.

"Yeah…" Sakura said, scratching at one of the many red marks on her upper arms.

"Don't scratch your wounds," Hinata stated. "T-They'll become infected if you d-do that…" The purple haired girl cautioned all of them, rubbing some special lotion she had designed over her skin. "T-The wounds are quite serious. Apply this lotion to them, they will disinfect them…"

The girl walked over to her friends and gave them each some, to which they gratefully accepted. Naruto was relieved when Hinata came up to him, and with a big blush on her face, applied the lotion on his face and exposed skin, to which she then gave it to little Haru. Everyone paused for a moment as Hinata moved from person to person, giving them the lotion, although those who were reluctant to receive it were Sasuke, Kakashi and Choji. When she went up to Anko, everyone got quite a shock when she turned around, and with a glare etched on her face, showed them her puffy face and swollen skin.

"Please… it… burns!" Anko groaned, shoulders and body slumped forward, and tears welling in her eyes. Hinata smiled, and carefully applied it. However, the moment her cream soaked fingertips made contact with Anko's skin, the purple haired woman let out a howl, and clutched the side of her face in agony. "AAAARRRGGGHHH!!! IT BURNS!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Hinata exclaimed. "Here, let me put some more on you, sensei!"

"NO! KEEP THAT STUFF AWAY FROM ME!" Anko cried! "What the heck is that? ACID!"

And yet, another commotion shot up in front of the convoy between Anko and another typical issue, to which everyone watched with odd expressions to see how it will unfold and resolve. Kakashi, getting bored easily, pulled out his book and started reading, while Choji shared popcorn with Kiba and Shino, who surprisingly, also took some. Sasuke just raised an eyebrow with his hands in his pockets, with Naruto standing beside him with Haru perking up more on his shoulders to get a better look.

With some help from Asuma and Kurenai, Anko was eventually calmed down, and once again, the group was on the move. No complaints were heard from inside the Jiao from the priestess as of now, and the group could walk on without a fuss from bugs, birds or any other fauna of the forest.

Speaking of which, as they journeyed on down the path, the forest began to break up, and soon, beyond the tree lines, hills of fields could be seen, along with cliff mountains, and amazingly enough, bamboo forests. The Genin teams looked around, awing at their developing new surroundings, whereas the Jonin just scanned the area. Eventually, the path came winding past a really big lake, stretching for a mile or so, before ending at a wall of cliffs and trees, with a huge waterfall careering down into the lake, filling it up. The Genin and their Jonin teachers paused for a brief moment, admiring and analyzing the sight.

Upon closer inspection, the Jonin saw that rivers branched out from the lake, small streams flowing into the surrounding forests and fields. Kurenai made note of this and pointed it out.

"Look… rivers… adjacent to the route we've been traveling," Kurenai said.

"Well that explains the mosquitoes," Asuma stated, placing his fists on his hips. "But it still doesn't explain why those mosquitoes were so aggressive…"

"I can't explain it either," Shino murmured, looking back down the path they had previously walked down. "Streams that small can't host that many mosquitoes, especially in a forest like this. Atmospheric temperature isn't right for them, and certainly lack of food doesn't explain it either…"

Naruto looked towards the lake. "Do they usually travel far from lakes like this?"

"Rarely," Shino stated. "Mosquitoes need a stable environment, the best is still water, to breed and lay their eggs. Shallow water is also most preferable…"

"Well, there you have it!" Ino exclaimed, waving a hand towards the lake. The Genin had set down the large Jiao, so they were able to scout the area with their eyes, and of course to rest their shoulders from the journey, "The wide expanses of water, the shallow shores and the still surface of the lake! It's the perfect nest area for parasites!"

"Not to mention there were so many of them," Sakura groaned, rubbing the back of her neck.

"It's like a plague of them has decided to appear or something," Sasuke added, folding his arms. "Guess we were the perfect targets for the biters…"

It was at these words that something clicked in Naruto's head, and upon the shock of this realization lowered Haru off of his shoulders and put him in the care of Sakura and Hinata. The two girls looked up at Naruto as his attention glanced around at the surrounding tree lines.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Is something the matter?" Hinata continued.

"We're being watched… stay on guard…" the blonde whispered, getting to his feet and flicking his right-hand wrist, the hidden blade appearing instantaneously with a flash of silver.

"Never mind them now," Anko said, turning back to the group. "We don't have much further to go. Just one more mile, and we've reached the village. We can discuss our bug problems once we've settled into a nice hotel." The woman turned, grumbling to herself as she walked on, the rest of the pack readying the convoy to depart. "I'm sick and tired of resting out on open gravel…"

"Wait!" Naruto called out, causing his sensei to pause and turn around. Everyone else directed their attention towards the young male, who was now standing outside of the group's safety circle and scanning the whole area around him

"What is it, Naruto?" Asuma asked, unaware of the scanning look Kakashi was also giving the area. It clicked with the silver-haired Jonin of Naruto's mood, and he too picked up something in the air.

"_What's that smell?"_ the Jonin thought, glancing around towards the lake. _"This scent is rather familiar… but…"_ His head spun around towards the tree line, along with Naruto's eyes. Unhindered and focused, the pair glared up into the treetops, their direction of eyes also catching the attention of Anko, Kurenai and Asuma, the three of them becoming more aware of their surroundings. _"Of course, it makes sense…"_

"_Mosquitoes amass near water for sure, but the ones that attacked us were much more aggressive than normal ones because they were being commanded by their element,"_ Naruto thought. He flicked his right wrist again, his blade disappearing and being replaced by three shuriken stars. _"Someone with a strong water nature can definitely have an influence over the creatures that depend on it. With that level of skill… and that scent…"_

Anko grinned, glancing up into the tree behind the Jiao and the convoy. The large tree stood directly beside the lake, and was the perfect vantage point for an attack.

"You can come on out!"

Naruto took action immediately, and threw the cluster of shuriken he held into the tree behind the Genin. They shot out of sight in a blink of an eye into the leaves, slicing into the branches, and causing the figure hiding within the tree to make himself known. A shadow leapt out of the trees to avoid damage from the shuriken, and performing a flip over the convoy below, landed beside the lake with a clang of metal and a thud.

In front of the large group of ninjas, a large zangetsu sword (about the size of Cloud's Buster Sword), impaled itself into the ground tip first, and on top of the handle, sitting expertly upon the pommel was a short figure. About a foot or so higher than Sasuke, the figure wore blue, baggy pants with a camouflage pattern, with metal leg guards, and black sandals. Above that, she wore a utility belt, covered by a blue jacket wrapped around her waist. Above her waist, she wore but a blue tank-top, giving a perfect view of her slender upper-body and mid-drift. The young woman also had red, spiky hair, tied up by a headband, symbolizing the Village Hidden in the Mist, with a gash across its surface. The woman also had blood-red, beautiful eyes, but the right had a black eye-patch covering it.

The figure smirked at the traveling group, flicking her wrist as she watched the Jonin and Genin size her up, and look her over.

"Well, well, well… what do we have here," the young swordswoman sneered. "Here I was, on my way to the market to pick up some groceries, and I run into a bunch of kids and a sizable carriage occupied by a passenger of royalty… hmm…"

Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai and Anko sneered, immediately recognizing the young, teenage girl blocking their way. Naruto was also glaring, while the rest of the Genin, accept Sasuke and Shino, were looking at the young warrior with doubtful and curious expressions, unaware of the danger that had just arrived on the scene. Haru, who was standing beside Sakura, hid behind the pink-haired kunoichi at the sight of the new figure.

"He-he… if I capture the priestess, her village and Konohagakure will pay a lot to get her back…"

"Who the hell is this, bitch?" Ino asked.

"Another troublesome bother…" Shikamaru groaned. _"First mosquitoes, now girls… what's next?"_

"If it isn't Ryoko Takahashi, rouge ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist," Anko exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips. "You know… you're quite young for a missing Nin…"

The young girl chuckled and glared at the lot of them. "So… you know my name… I am honored," she said, before checking out each of the four Jonin standing in front of her. "And it truly is an honor to be recognized by four of the greatest ninja of Konohagakure. Anko Mitarashi, the Snake User of Konoha and one of its best interrogators. Kakashi Hatake…" she looked towards the silver-haired Jonin, "The Copy Ninja, and wielder of the Sharingan eye! Asuma Sarutobi, former member of Twelve Guardian Ninja. And Kurenai Yuhi, Konoha's best Genjutsu specialist…"

"You've been studying up on us," Kakashi said, pulling his hands out of his pockets and stepping forward from the defensive formation the four Jonin had taken up on sight of this new foe. "That means you've been watching us for quite some time…"

"A great ninja will always carefully study up his or her opponents before moving in on there targets…" the ninja Ryoko exclaimed, before leering at the group. "Odds are, I can wipe the floor with all of you, and your little brats, right here and now…"

"Brats?" Sakura growled, eye twitching.

"She's just a kid herself," Choji said. "Why is she calling us kids when she's not even eighteen years old?"

"I'd say she's about… sixteen or something," Kiba said, before a lecherous grin appear on his lips. "But she is quite attractive… look at that body!" Akamaru groaned at this statement and shook his head, while Hinata, Ino and Sakura turned their glares on the drooling boy.

"One problem though," Kurenai stated towards the red-haired swordswoman, "You've lost your element of surprise, which means you're going to have a hell of a hard time bringing down four Jonin."

"It was pretty stupid of you making your presence known before attacking us," Asuma also added. "It seems that the tables have turned in our favor…"

"I'll take her out," Kakashi said, stepping forward and reaching up to his headband. "If info on this one is correct, she should be a piece of cake to defeat…"

Ryoko smirked at the silver haired Jonin as he stepped forward further, the other Jonin behind him taking cautious stances.

"Don't do anything reckless, Kakashi," Asuma warned. "She may be a kid, but she looks strong…"

"You don't need to worry about anything, Asuma," Kakashi replied, slipping his head-band up to cover his forehead completely, and revealing his scarred eye. When he opened it, he revealed his blazing red Sharingan, the tomos circling the pupil spinning in preparation. "I'm pretty confident in my abilities to defeat this opponent." Sasuke and most of the Genin behind the four Jonin spotted the silver-haired Jonin's secret device when he glanced behind him and winked at the groups watching. "There's no need for concern, guys…"

"W-What's that?" Sakura asked.

"I-Is that… the Sharingan?" Hinata spoke up, blinking in surprise.

"_It can't be…"_ Sasuke shook his head in disbelief, and looked back at his sensei to see if he wasn't dreaming. _"I thought the Uchiha clan was the only clan that possessed the Sharingan… how did Kakashi-sensei…"_

Just as Kakashi was readying himself for a fight, a blonde blur shot in front of the Jonin, and when the cloud of dust dissipated, it revealed the spiky haired Naruto standing there, face-to-face with the red-head swordswoman. Everyone in the vicinity blinked in surprise at the blonde's appearance, even Ryoko, as the two of them exchanged glares.

"I'll fight her…" Naruto stated.

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	11. Naruto Fights the Enemy

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Naruto Fights the Enemy_

"What?!" Kakashi blanched.

"Naruto, you're out of formation, out of line, and out of your league here," Asuma sensei said, stepping forward. "Let Kakashi handle her…"

Naruto frowned and glared more seriously at the woman in front of him, her lecherous smile making him feel a little on edge. He pointed a finger at her accusingly. "You're one of the Seven Legendary Swordsmen of the Mist! Ryoko Takahashi, also known as The _Siren of the Hidden Mist_! Like all the swordsmen, you are a deadly combatant, and listed prominently in the bingo book; an S-class criminal!"

Everyone was gob-smacked at the attitude and knowledge Naruto displayed, especially those who have known him mostly for being the cheeky, energetic clown of the class, or the 'dead-last'. At least, he wasn't that now, but still maintained his title of being 'unpredictable'. Ryoko grinned at the boy and, kicking the sword's handle she was perched on, flipped it behind and over her and she landed gracefully on the ground, while catching her spinning sword in one hand. The red-haired woman grinned at the blonde.

"You know of me?" she exclaimed. "This is interesting. A brat like you bearing knowledge of the Mizukage's greatest right-hand shinobi…"

"You'd be surprised how much more I know about your lot," Naruto stated.

"Nevertheless, you should listen to your teachers, brat! You're way out of my league!" Ryoko said with a grin. "You're too young to be my opponent, not to mention a mere Genin…"

"Think so, huh?!" Naruto growled. Reaching back to his pouch, he pulled out a small scroll. In one swift movement, he slit a small cut along his front tooth, and threw the scroll open, dragging the paper through the air as he signed a nice line of blood across it. Then, twirling it around him, stretched it open, and in a puff of white smoke, the scroll disappeared, revealing Naruto carrying a pair of weapons in one hand. Twirling them between his fingers, he then threw them at the feet of the girl in front of her, who looked down at the ground between them at the newly laid utensils the boy had in his possession. "Recognize these?"

On a quick, close inspection of the two weapons the boy threw at hr feet, Ryoko raised an eyebrow. She recognized the spiked duel blades, and their signature feel, and glanced back up at the boy. "These are…"

"Raiga's swords!" Naruto stated, jabbing his finger at them before glaring at the girl again. "The Lightning Fang blades: once belonging to the _Thunder of the Hidden Mist_."

"How did you get these?" she asked.

"I bumped into him on one of my journeys outside of Konohagakure, near some gold mines," Naruto stated, nodding his head. "An interesting fellow, a bit deranged, but I guess it runs in the family. He wanted to give me a funeral, and I simply declined politely… the rest is a story for another time…"

Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai looked at the by in shock as he stepped forward more, grinning back at the girl and throwing both his arms out to his sides. The group of shinobi watched as two kunai shot out from under his sleeves and the twirled them between his fingers, before taking a fighting stance, readying himself for battle.

"I know how the Seven Legendary Swordsmen fight! So far your preferred technique is the Hidden Mist Jutsu, and all of you specialize in water based techniques," Naruto stated. "I know this, because not only did I battle and defeat Raiga, but I was also pursued by Kisame Hoshigaki… another friend of yours I presume…"

Ryoko's eyes widened sharply in surprise and with a growl, brought her sword up and angled it threateningly at the boy standing several paces in front of her. She gritted her teeth, hard. "Don't you ever mention that man's name to me again, brat! He was nothing but a monster; he treated the rest of us like scum! I have nothing but loathing for that shark bastard!"

"Just how many shinobi has Naruto faced in his past life?" Kiba queried, glancing round at the others standing around him, all of them sharing the same looks of shock and disbelief. "Is anyone else besides me finding this situation hard to believe, or am I just a lone wolf hunting in the snow for answers here?"

"I think we're all trying to figure our way out of this debacle, Kiba," Ino murmured dazedly, shocked at the amount of confidence, skill and knowledge Naruto had just displayed right now. "When did Naruto get so smart?"

"You see, this is what happens when you have doubts about someone," Choji pointed out.

"Guys, just stay on guard," Sakura hissed at them, resuming her stance after recovering from her state of shock. "If what Naruto says is true, then we can't be at ease just because we have four Jonin with us and outnumber this woman a dozen to one…"

"You may just be a kid, but believe me when I say this; I won't take it easy on you!" Kyoko said, a grin re-emerging on her lips. "I've come across hundreds like you!"

Naruto grinned back at her. "Yes you have! But count me as your last!"

"Get her, Gaki!" Anko exclaimed, holding her fist up. "We'll cover you!"

"Thanks!" Naruto shouted, suddenly breaking off, sprinting off to the side and pitching the two kunai he held at the woman.

Ryoko immediately batted them to the side with her sword, grinning wildly while expertly spinning her blade around her as if it were nothing. She spun round to meet the boy charging at her full-on, his pace set at a surprisingly faster level then what she recognized as a Genin. He was above that level…

"COME ON!" she roared. However, just as she took a step forward, the ground at her feet cracked and she looked down in surprise, where she saw a kunai shot out of the ground, followed by an arm, and the body. It came as quite a surprise to her to see that it was the boy that emerged from the ground, the same one charging at her. "What?!" Ryoko growled, spinning her sword round and blocking the kunai strike coming straight up at her, debris flying, and the force of the attack driving into her defense. Caught off guard, the swordswoman retreated, pushing off the ground and flying backwards towards the lake behind her. She landed with a light patter, and twirled her sword round her, taking a basic stance. "A clone, huh?"

The Naruto that shot out of the ground got onto his hands and knees, as the real Naruto leapt onto his back, and jumped from it, propelled into the air by the extra momentum given by the copy. Once airborne, Naruto threw his right hand back forward, followed by his left one after the other, pitching a cluster of shuriken in the swordswoman's direction. Ryoko grinned cockily and avoided each of the shuriken, backing away slowly as the blonde plummeted towards her.

"This is nothing, brat!" she exclaimed. "You'll have to do…"

"A lot better, huh?" a voice sounded from behind her, finishing her sentence. Ryoko spun around in surprise, seeing a mass of twenty or so Naruto's charging at her across the water.

"What the?"

"Surprise!" they all yelled, leaping at her one after another, continuing their assault, while circling her at the same time.

Ryoko spun her sword around her, striking at the first clones attacking her. A couple of the puffed away, while more of them drew kunai blades and began lashing out at her with multiple attacks with unexpected skill, precision and speed. The swordswoman, underestimating her opponent, found it difficult to fend off the volley of attacks, while attempting to thin out the enemy's numbers. The two combatants danced across the water, performing a variety of attacks, blocks and counters, with Ryoko being forced into a very narrow, close combat fight, as her sword was a little too cumbersome to be used in point-blank combat.

* * *

"He's running on the water?" Choji shouted.

"That's rather surprising," Shino murmured.

"How is he able to do that? Not even we can do that now!" Kiba exclaimed, blinking in shock. "Heck, we're still just learning how to climb trees, dammit!"

"Apparently, Naruto has learned to progress on his own fairly well, without having anyone to teach him," Asuma said, glancing over at Anko across the faces of a shocked Kakashi and a shocked Kurenai. "I guess, aside from his own personal studies, you've taught him a thing or two as well, haven't you Anko…?"

"Every chance I got," Anko exclaimed, crouching low onto the ground and placing her hand on the earth, while watching the battle unfold on the water's surface. Clanging of kunai rang out, along with sounds of fists and kicks making contact as the Naruto clones continued their assault, soon to be joined be more.

"Since when did Naruto learn how to water walk?" Kakashi asked, looking down at Anko. "He's far more advanced then the other students. What have you been teaching your team?!"

"A lot, actually," Anko explained. "I first allowed them to adjust to their new conditions and environment, and am allowing them to bond as teammates! This allows them to build confidence in each other, and their abilities. I have also sent them on a lot of… err… errands, strength building, chakra exercises, and simulated various types of battle situations. I have to say, the three of them are quite strong individually, and not just together…"

"What about Sakura and Hinata…?" Kurenai asked.

"I'm sure they've got a trick or two up their sleeves?" Anko said with a grin.

The Jonin came to a silent, unanimous vote to never like that grin she used…

* * *

"Heh! Come on, brat! Is that all you've got!" Ryoko exclaimed, blocking multiple strikes from the kunai wielding blonde, as he came at her with a series of advanced taijutsu attacks, making the woman move her sword around her at impossible angles. However, despite the boy's efforts, the red haired swordswoman found herself toying with the young Genin. Naruto came at her with slash, which she caught in a grappling lock. "You've got good skill! Don't waste it!"

"This fight is just beginning!" Naruto stated, grinning madly. His eyes have taken on that full expression of a dead-man, the look that made his friends quiver and fear. It was one a lot of people who saw it a first time knew, and Ryoko noted this, raising an eyebrow at him. As their weapons grinded against each other, and as they remained locked together in a grapple, sparks flying from the metal and onto the lake's rippling surface, the woman huffed.

"I know **that** look… how pitiful!"

Suddenly, a shadow cast over her, and Ryoko looked behind and above her to see another clone flying towards her, throwing its left arm back, the blade from the sleeve emerging, poised to strike. With her back undefended, and clearly busy with the real one in front of her, Ryoko looked as though she was about to be cut down. However, just before the Naruto clone could reach its target, the swordswoman decided to lose the training wheels, and take this boy on more seriously. Smirking, she shoved the boy she was locked in a grapple with, away, and then spun around, her sword blade flashing through the air, before cutting through the fake opponent just inches away from landing a killing blow. She took it out, and it vanished in a slash of wind, and a puff of smoke.

"Not bad at all!"

Naruto once again spun in from the guard break with another slash of his kunai, Ryoko met his blade with her own, effortlessly knocking him back with another slash on her next spin-around. She then leapt at the boy, bringing the sword up in two hands and bringing it down onto the boy, only to have him block it with two more kunai, sparks flying as she pressured him with the massive sword. Naruto gritted his teeth as he held her blade back, the red-haired swordswoman huffing as she put more strength and pressure onto the blade, attempting to break the boy's guard. However, much to her surprise, she found it hard to do so.

Grinning, Naruto glanced to his right. "HINATA! GO FOR IT!"

"Huh?" Ryoko also looked, only to see the blur of a palm strike appear out of nowhere, with a slash and a grunt, the woman leapt back, avoiding the strike. Landing away from her opponent, she brought her sword around as a barrage of close-combat blows laced with chakra began bombarding her front the front. Ryoko backed away, bringing her sword to bear and blocking the series of attacks high and low, from this advancing, new opponent. The side of her sword caught all the blows, thumping against the thick metal, and going off with loud thuds and clangs.

"Six Tri-Grams Strike!" Hinata shouted, Byakugan flaring as she thrust two fingers forward, a burst of bright blue chakra knocking the defensive Ryoko staggering back. The young Hyuuga dropped low and watched as her opponent shook out of the attack. "Eight Tri-Grams Palm!" the girl shouted, again thrusting another palm strike forward, the blade of wind emerging from it whacking into the red haired swordswoman like a pulsating shock-wave. However, Ryoko managed to bring her sword up and sliced at it in kind, cutting the force of the attack effortlessly.

"A new opponent, huh?" Ryoko exclaimed. "Bring it girlie!"

It came as a big surprise to all those watching that not only could Naruto walk on water, but Hinata as well, and soon should another…

Ryoko spun her sword and leapt at Hinata with speed the girl was shocked at. Within seconds she was upon the girl, who dropped back defensively. In that instance, Naruto came to her aid, appearing in front of her and bringing up the two, large kunai he had been using before against the swordswoman, the same markings Mizuki had seen etched on their blades and handles. The red haired Missing Nin grinned at the sight of the two Genin glaring up at her as she brought her blade down on both of them.

"Die!"

Acting quickly, Naruto got onto one toe and pivoted into a spin, grabbing Hinata and in a whirl of leaves, vanished. Ryoko's blade struck the water's surface with a splash, and she gritted her teeth in annoyance.

"That irritating, no god brat!" She looked up, seeking out her opponent, but was distracted by a shadow growing around her.

Hinted that someone was attacking from above, she glared up towards the sky to see the outline of the pink haired Genin flying down at her from above, fist curled back and glowing blue with the aura of chakra. The girl's descending speed was incredible, and Ryoko was caught off guard when the girl thrust her fist down at her.

"Take this!"

An explosion of water shot up from the lake when Sakura impacted against it, the fate of her and the swordswoman masked by the walls of water. The Genin looked on in shock, as well as the Jonin, save for Anko, who was grinning proudly as she watched her students tackle on the Missing Nin head-on. It didn't take long for the wall of water to fall back into the lake, and as it was still showering droplets, everyone could see what was happening. Ryoko leapt backwards from the center of the explosion of water, followed by a charging Sakura, kunai held in hand. She lashed out at the woman with controlled attacks, her blade twirling between her fingers on every return, and clanging against the defensive parries made by the red haired woman.

Catching the pink haired girl in a grapple, Ryoko grinned down at her as she held the girl's strike down with the tip of her sword's blade.

"Please… you think you can kill me… you little **bitch!**" she growled, swinging her sword downwards, knocking Sakura back, who then leapt into the air and performed a flip. Redirecting her momentum, Sakura flew straight back down at the woman, yelling out at the top of her lungs as she prepared for a dive strike.

"Heh…" Ryoko grinned, backing down into a fighting stance. Sword held lightly in her right hand, formed a single hand-sign and, producing the chakra she required, stimulated the water at her feet. The ripples moving outwards from her then suddenly became violent, and a stream of water shot out from the water from behind her, smooth and without any white caps to be seen as it shot straight up at the pink-haired girl.

"_Water Style: Water Whip Technique!"_

The attack struck Sakura head-on, the force of it echoing out and looking as though it really stung. However, just as Kakashi and Asuma were about to step in to take over the fight, Sakura suddenly exploded into a shower of cherry-blossom petals, the swordswoman furrowing her brow and glaring up at the petals falling around her.

"What the…?" It was then, she suddenly noticed something off about the petals; black ink-marks drawn onto each individual petal. Ryoko took a moment to analyze one of them that had fallen onto her shoulder, and seeing what was inscribed, widened her eyes and glared behind her, seeing the blonde she had been fighting before and his two female teammates accompanying him. With a grin, Naruto held up his left hand and formed a single-handed seal, smirking.

"Katsu…"

**BOOOM!!!**

Another explosion rocked the lake's surface, sending water everywhere. The students standing by gawked at the intensity of the explosion, with the Jonins also witnessing the explosion nodding in approval. Anko fisted her hand and jabbed it in front of her.

"Hoosha! Way to go, Sakura!"

Kurenai raised an eyebrow and glanced at her friend. "Isn't that Sakura's quote?"

"Who cares?! What an attack!"

"That was quite a good move…"

Back to the three Genin standing on the water and watching the fireworks, Naruto dusted his hands down and smirked as he watched the wall of water cascade in a scattered shower back down to the lake. Sakura and Hinata too joined him in his smiling, and admired their handiwork.

"Naruto and Sakura Combo Attack: Cherry Blossom Fire Shower Technique!" the blonde Genin exclaimed, twirling a kunai in his right fingers and clasping it into a single-handed grasp. "How'd you like that?"

"Moderate Approval," Ryoko's voice sounded from the bellowing smoke and cascading water, surprising the trio as they stared into the aftermath of the explosion, where they saw the figure of the red-headed woman appear, arms folded and a grin on her face. The woman laughed as she came into full, untainted view of the three Genin and the rest of the traveling convoy, all of the gaping in shock that the young teen didn't have any significant damage, only slight tears in her clothes, a bruise or two and a small smudge on her right cheek. "What was that? I asked for a fight, not a children's game! This is starting to bore me…"

"What the… how did she?" Sakura gaped.

"S-She shouldn't have survived that!" Hinata continued.

"All those attacks, and they were for nothing," Asuma said, spitting the cigarette from his mouth and cracking his neck. "Guess we'll have to take this swordswoman a little more seriously. She's a lot stronger than I expected…"

"I agree, but lets not get too hasty, Asuma," Kurenai said, reaching back into her pouch and searching for a kunai or two.

Naruto gritted his teeth angrily, but then kept that in check and grinned a second later. He then started chuckling, much to the chagrin of the swordswoman, who at first, thought she had gotten through to all of them already. But, this one was different. This boy was incessantly mocking her intimidating tactics, throwing them back into her face with his amusement.

Sakura and Hinata looked at Naruto as he laughed, head lowered and body trembling. The other students and the Jonin looked at him as well, watching as the boy giggled and laughed amusingly for the next few seconds before he looked up, eyes glowing darkly and a huge, shit-eating grin on his face.

"I know I may be… _different_ from the others. It was these differences that set me a part from everybody else, and was the basis of me being ridiculed all my life when I lived in the villages, where people knew exactly what I was carrying inside of me," Naruto said, wiping his thumb over his forehead before lowering it into an angled, thumbs-up. "But what are you going to do, deep down you and I are the same… every little bit of us. There is a place where those of us who truly know pain and suffering, and who can walk that path… wouldn't you agree with me… **lady**?!"

Ryoko furrowed her brow, but then grinned a second later, her expression of insanity and darkness matching that of Naruto's, and she crouched low into a fighting stance.

"You're right kid… you and I both walk that path…" she hissed, brow overshadowing in that familiar, dark-Naruto way. "Suddenly, I'm starting to feel that I shouldn't pity you. Instead… I'll give you my respect…brat…"

Naruto smirked, and with a grunt, pushed off the water, going into a swift charge, with Sakura and Hinata remaining where they were, watching as their teammate took on Ryoko head-to-head.

"Naruto! Be careful!" Hinata shouted after him.

"Naruto-kun…" Haru murmured from behind the Genin protectors, Ino taking especially good care of her, while glancing back to check on the Jiao every now an again to make sure its safe.

The blonde Genin leapt at the girl with lightning fast speed, but the young red-head was already prepared for this, performing a swift variety of hand signs and watching as the boy flew at her. Grinning from ear to ear, a swirl of up-heaving water suddenly began chopping around her in a clock-wise direction.

"Big mistake, brat!"

"WATCH OUT NARUTO!" Anko shouted.

"Too late! _Water Style: Multi-Water Whip Technique_!" Ryoko shouted, and a dozen or so streams of water shot out of the surrounding whirlpool at her feet and whipped through the air, directly towards the boy. Naruto gasped, and didn't have time to react as the multiple jet streams of water struck him full on and threw him into the trees on the other-side of the lake. The blonde disappeared in a cloud of smoke, debris and splinters. He was thrown right over the heads of his two teammates, who watched him disappear into the woods.

"No! Naruto!" Sakura called out.

"NOW YOU DIE BRATS!" Ryoko shouted, her blurred form suddenly appearing in front of the two Genin. The girls were too stunned and distracted to even reset their guards, and couldn't do anything as the red-haired swordswoman swung her massive blade towards them, aimed to slice their heads off, and end this battle in one move.

She swung, but her blade was blocked with a loud clang by the appearance of the big Jonin, Asuma Sarutobi. With his trench-knives, he held the red-headed girl's blade in a locked position, his arms trembling and teeth gritted as he glared the girl down. Ryoko raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Oh…interesting…"

"Sakura! Hinata! Go find Naruto! See if he's okay!" Asuma shouted. "We'll take care of this!" With a yell, he shoved the young Missing Nin away, with the red-haired swordswoman landing several meters back and taking a stance, watching as she was surrounded by Kakashi, Anko and Kurenai, the four Jonin taking up position on all her sides.

The two girls nodded in understanding and ran off across the water toward the area Naruto was hurled into. They disappeared into the broken trees, to search the branches and undergrowth. Meanwhile, the other students stood guard of the Jiao and Haru, and watched the battle that was to take place between the Siren of the Hidden Mist and the Four Strongest Jonin of Konohagakure.

Ryoko stood in the box made by her opponents and looked around at the four of them, a grin on her face. She was met by the blades of Asuma, the Sharingan of Kakashi, the red-eyes of Kurenai, and the grin made by Anko. However, in spite of the fighting stances they took, and the threat they posed, she could tell they were nervous. The woman chuckled and spun her blade in her grip, swinging it through the air before resting it on her shoulder, taking a stance in preparation for the showdown.

"Ha-ha! I remember when I faced down four Jonin like this before," Ryoko exclaimed. "They were truly impossible odds! Heh…I've done this hundreds of times before… don't think you'll fair any better against me than those who have tried to take me on!"

The four Jonin hardened their glares.

"Enough of this foolishness," Kurenai growled. "We're going to end this here and now!"

"Prepare yourself!" Kakashi stated.

"Or surrender, and come quietly," Asuma said.

"We'll treat you right if you do…" Anko grinned, running her tongue over her drawn kunai.

"Really," Ryoko exclaimed in a happy tone, bringing her blade up to her mouth and running her own tongue over it, mimicking Anko, but instead, cut it against the side. She lapped away the blood on her tongue and moaned in appreciation, before taking the sword into a sweeping grip and slashed around her, a slight gust of wind blasting outwards, and the water being cut where she ran the tip of the blade. "As tempting as that sounds, I think I'll pass. I'LL BE GLAD TO KILL YOU ALL!!!"

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	12. Value of Teamwork

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Value of Teamwork_

Blades clashed loudly as Asuma made the first move, charging straight at Ryoko head-long and attacking her with a series of slashes, stabs and punches, using his custom made trench knives and his specialty behind it. His blades glowed with an aura of blue chakra, extending his blades indefinitely, and the sight of them causing Ryoko to take a more serious stance against this opponent. The red-haired woman gritted her teeth and backed away, swinging her sword and meeting Asuma's strikes blow for blue, sparks flying as the two of them exchanged blows.

After blocking a series of combinations, the two became locked in a grapple, between the other three Jonins watching for an opening to move into, Ryoko glaring directly into the eyes of Asuma and seeing the effort he was putting into this battle. However, it was this stalemate that left her open to attack from behind, and the next thing she knew was glancing behind her, and seeing the silver-haired Jonin of Team 7 flying straight at her, kunai drawn back and ready to strike. With a growl of effort, she pushed Asuma's blades off of hers and spun around, meeting Kakashi's blade with her own. The new clash of blades sent sparks flying, and after a couple of swipes and parries, Ryoko slipped her blade across Kakashi's and batted the kunai out of his hand, before sending a side-kick into his stomach and sending him hurling through the air across the lake. The blow winded Kakashi significantly, and took him a bit longer to recover while he was in mid-flight.

A hissing sound brought Ryoko's attention to her right, where she saw four snakes shooting through the air towards her, mouths agape and fangs bore. She focused her attention on them, propping her sword in her grip into a state of readiness.

"_Ninja Art: Shadow Snake Hands_!" Anko shouted, her attacks just inches from her opponent. However, acting quickly, Ryoko leapt upwards into the air, retreating as the four snake shadows struck the water she was standing before. Once airborne, the swordswoman put her hands together into a quick series of hand-signs, and when she landed, formed a final hand-sign, a burst of chakra radiating from her with the initiation of her jutsu.

"Water Style…

…**Great Waterfall Technique!"**

"What!" Ryoko's eyes widened as a huge jet of water shot up around her, and as it was shooting straight for Anko, a second jet of water shot out of nowhere and struck her's head on. The shower of water violently pulsated at the center where the two attacks met, and when it was over, the water fell back into the lake, splashing water over everyone surrounding. The red-haired swordswoman gritted her teeth and glared to her left, where she saw Kakashi Hatake standing about a hundred yards out, hands formed into the same hand sign as hers. Glancing into his eyes, she saw his Sharingan blazing furiously in its socket.

She grinned menacingly at the Jonin. "Sharingan, huh?"

"Don't get too comfortable!" a woman's yell sounded, drawing Ryoko's attention skyward, where she saw Mitarashi Anko flying directly down at her. Performing a single-hand sign in mid-fall, Anko then redirected momentum and span in mid-fall, throwing her arm across and outwards. With a loud hissing and whooshing sound, a long boa unexpectedly shot out of her sleeve and straight down at the woman. "_Ninja Art: Snake Whip_!"

Ryoko grinned, forming a blur of hand-signs, and in a flash, intercepted the skyward, snake strike with her own water whip, the clash of attacks causing both attacks to explode on contact in their own ways, allowing the swordswoman to leap out of other attacks from the descending elite Jonin. Performing another blur of hand-seals, Ryoko gritted her teeth and focused her next attack on the now, landing Anko.

"You first! _Water Style: Water Dragon Technique!"_

A roar of water and waves shot up from behind the swordswoman, and directing her attack expertly, a huge, water shaped dragon with glowing blue eyes suddenly shot out from behind her, whipped through the air at low altitude, and charged down Anko, who had just landed on the water. The purple-haired woman was unable to do anything in her state, and just as she was about to form her own hand-seals to parry the dragon, it was already upon her.

However, seemingly out of nowhere, a kunai shot straight into the dragon, and on contact, exploded. The force equalized against the technique, destroying the dragon, and setting clouds of steam, and water flying everywhere. Ryoko cursed, and glared through the thickness of the raining mists to see who had intercepted her technique. But before she could do anything, she suddenly got a strange, heavy-weight feeling, and her arms become stiff.

Glancing behind her, Ryoko saw that a tree had shot out of the water and with wet vines and branches, entangled around her and restrained her against the base. The tree quickly took shape and hardened, keeping the swordswoman in place.

"Genjutsu?" the swordswoman grumbled.

"That's right!" Kurenai exclaimed, the raven-haired woman emerging from the same tree just inches above Ryoko. The woman grinned as she glared down at her, kunai drawn and ready to strike. "Now, it's all over for you!" Huffing, Kurenai thrust her blade straight down at the swordswoman, aiming directly for her heart. She struck, impaling the girl with her weapon. The red-head coughed up blood the moment the blade made contact, and she glared hazily back up at the Jonin responsible.

"You know… this is becoming a real pain," Ryoko choked out, grinning a second later.

Kurenai's eyes widened in shock when, unexpectedly, the red-haired woman dematerialized into water, falling back into the lake on which they were fighting. Deactivating the illusion, Kurenai found herself staring at an empty space, with Anko on her knee several meters in front of her, and Kakashi and Asuma standing separately in defensive positions, having watched the attack take place from a distance.

"A water clone?" Kakashi mouthed, looking around from side-to-side, before laying his eyes on a particular area of the lake just a few meters out. Directing attention from the other Jonin, they watched as a shape suddenly began to form from the water, and within seconds, the subjugation took on color and defining edges, and soon enough, Ryoko reappeared, sword on her shoulder and a smirk on her face.

Asuma clenched his teeth and, taking up blades, charged at her. "Enough tricks!" he shouted, launching himself full-pelt at her, taking a strike. The swordswoman was prepared, twirling her sword in her grip and swiping out at Asuma's strike in a counter, knocking his attack back, and moving into attack mode herself. Soon, both of them were exchanging blows, lashing out with their weapons at each other and skipping across the water. Asuma was forced to back down at the ferocity in which this woman attacked him, soon to be joined by Kakashi.

The two Jonin then engaged Ryoko, attacking her from left to right, attempting to drive her into a corner. But the woman turned out t be a slippery opponent, and managed to break out of the engagement. Parrying their last blows, she crouched low and leapt high. Gaining height, she then directed her descent a few seconds later towards Kurenai. Spinning her sword around, she shot down at her in an attempt to land a killing strike, as the raven-haired woman prepared herself with her kunai.

Suddenly, a flash of orange caught Ryoko's attention. From left and right she glanced, where she saw two massive spheres of fire shooting at her from both sides. Kakashi and Anko had taken initiative, intent on frying her. Changing tactics, the woman brought her blade around, and spinning around in mid-air, summoned jets of water from the lake below, which spun around her, and enveloped her. In a blink of an eye, when the balls of fire struck the shield of water formed into a protective shield around the target, they exploded on contact, sending clouds of smoke and cinders everywhere. Kakashi, Anko, and everyone within range shielded their eyes at the blast waves rupturing from the epicenter of the explosion. When the fiery smoke cleared, eyes returned to the battlefield, looking up to see what had happened. Amidst the mist and fog of what had formed from the attack, the Jonin, and the audience standing on the sidelines furrowed their brows and scratched their heads in puzzlement when they saw no signs of the red headed swordswoman.

Ino shrugged. "Is that it?"

"Could be," Shikamaru mumbled.

"Where'd she go?" Choji shouted, putting his hand to her brow and looking over the lake.

"She could have been disintegrated in the explosion," Kiba stated, sniffing the air. "Hm! Her scent's still here…"

"No ninja with that kind of power could have been defeated like that," Shino murmured. "She managed to produce a shield before the Fire Ball Techniques hit her…"

"Plus, there would be remains of her all over the place," Sasuke added. "Even two Fire Ball techniques would have left traces of her physical being on the lake's surface…"

Haru curled up next to Ino, hugging her leg as she looked out onto the lake. "I-I'm scared…" Ino looked down at the girl, seeing the terrified expression on her face, and knelt down to comfort her. She patted the girl on the shoulders, soothing her softly.

"It's okay…I'm sure it's over…"

Asuma hardened his glare on the area the explosion took place, trying to pick up any trails that would indicate the woman had managed to evade the attack. However, just before any of the Jonin could figure out what had happened, the trench-knife wielding Jonin suddenly picked up the sound of water rippling behind him, and he spun around, leaping back just in time to avoid the huge blade swinging through the air. The blade grazed the knuckles of his right hand, drawing blood, with Asuma retreating to a safer distance.

Now that she had revealed herself, all Jonin refocused attention on the swordswoman. When they did, they saw that Ryoko was slouched over a little, in a staggered attempt at holding her sword up in her right hand only. On closer inspection of the young woman, the Jonin got a bit of a surprise when they saw that a lot of the left side of her body was burnt and scarred, especially her left arm. She was glaring at them hatefully, seeing them eyeing her weakened state.

After a few more seconds of inspecting their opponent, the Jonin breathed a sigh of relief, with Kakashi opening up with a mid-battle comment.

"You're beat now, youngster…" he stated, holding up his kunai a bit more. "We'll give you one last chance to surrender…"

"Please," Kurenai continued on, also brandishing a kunai threateningly. "We don't want to have to kill you…"

Ryoko huffed and puffed, catching her breath for a few more seconds, before responding to the Jonin's statements with a chuckle and a grin. "Ha… for your sake, you'd better be prepared to hold your breath…"

Asuma grinned. "I'd hold _**my**_ breath if I were you, kid," he exclaimed, holding up his trench-knives defensively. However, just as he did, he suddenly felt his right hand tremble violently, before losing all feeling in it and fall to his side. The Jonin shouted in agony as his arm fell limp, and dropped his trench-knife. All the other Jonin looked over at him in surprise, as the man staggered back as his arm hung limply at his side.

"What's wrong, Asuma!" Anko shouted.

"Are you alright!" Kakashi yelled.

"M-My arm!" Asuma growled, trying to regain feeling in it. "I…I… what's happening to it?"

Ryoko grinned at him, brandishing her sword across her in a threatening manner. "Take a better look…"

In response to this, Asuma ripped the sleeve of his shirt off on his right arm with his left, and got a shocked look when he saw that his arm, once muscular and lively, was now shriveled up and dry, as if all the fluid in his arm had just vanished, leaving nothing but a shriveled up husk. He trembled as he gripped it, trying to poke and prod any feeling back into it. The Genin watching from a distance stared on in shock at what was happening.

"A-Asuma-sensei!" Choji shouted.

"What's happened to his arm!?" Kiba also yelled in shock.

"Ah… that's not good!" Sasuke commented.

"What did you do to his arm, you bitch?" Kurenai yelled, raising her kunai to her side, readying to strike, or throw it at her from a distance.

Ryoko chuckled, as she tapped the defensive side of her sword against her left side, agitating the group with her cocky attitude, in spite of her own injuries, and the seriousness of her predicament.

"My sword, _Aries_, doesn't just cut my opponents, or slice through objects, but also has the definitive ability to drain people of their bodily fluids on contact, for a temporary period of time till their body is re-acquainted with water. Your arm will be useless for the next hour or so till it can start functioning properly," Ryoko exclaimed, much to the shock of the other Jonin. "There is also an added catch. I can reimburse whatever fluid and essence the sword is able to draw from its target, and replenish my own body with it, including healing wounds, and boosting my chakra level!"

"What!" Anko shouted.

Right there and there, the red haired enemy ninja swished her sword through the air, and sheathed it onto her back. Within seconds upon doing this, and extending her arms outward, the groups watching, saw to their shock and dismay, as the young warrior's wounds began to heal. The burn marks crinkled and disappeared, as if the skin were introduced to a new source of life, healing and returning to their normal, untouched textures. Her skin soon became flawless, and the young swordswoman looked as though she was as good as new.

Letting out a sigh of relief, the woman grinned back down at the four Jonin and smirked.

"Ahh… that's better!" Ryoko exclaimed, reaching up to her sword's handle again. "So… where were we?"

Just as the Four Jonin were assuming fighting stances again, tremors in the water in front of each of them caught their attention, and before any of them could do anything, jet-streams of water shot out and curled around each of them like tentacles, before dragging each of them under, Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai and Anko. Ryoko grinned badly, hands formed into a bird hand seal and chakra pulsating out from her. She knelt down and placed her hands on the water, looking up to watch the show.

"_Secret Ninja Art: Water Hurricane Technique_!" she yelled.

In an instant, the water of the lake stretching at a radius of three-hundred meters suddenly began to rotate and spin, like it was going down a drain in a clock-wise direction. Within seconds, that circle of water spinning on the surface, and clearly below water, suddenly shot straight into the air at the edges it was cut, into a gigantic water-spout. The Genin on the shoreline backed away in terror, as they looked upon the massive water tornado like technique, spinning at intense speeds and whipping through the air wildly, while stretching high into the clouds. The very techniques caused winds to whip violently across the land for a kilometer in every direction, nearly knocking the group on the shore over.

The water spout continued whipping and spinning for a minute or so, before suddenly dissipating, the water immediately falling back into the lake. From it, it spat out the four Jonin, throwing them back onto the land violently. Each of the Jonin landed in separate places. Kakashi was thrown violently into the tree Ryoko was hiding in, literally breaking through thick branches before crashing into the ground. Anko bounced across the lake's surface repeatedly like a thrown stone and came to a crashed face-plant into the sandy shoreline. Asuma just fell from the sky and landed painfully, forming a person shaped, shallow crater in the ground on the far left side of the Genin group's position, and Kurenai skidded along the ground, tumbling and rolling before coming to a stop in front of Sasuke, Shino and everybody else.

When the wall of water finally returned to the lake completely, the Genin teams could get a clear view of Ryoko, the rogue swordswoman, now glaring at them with a big smile on her face. Seeing her path cleared, and the Jonin thrown out of her way, either knocked out or staggered in a way, she brushed her arms down, and then began to walk across the lake towards the group casually. The Genin backed away in fear, taking up defensive stances.

"No need to fret, I just want the mistress…" Ryoko said, pointing towards the carriage. "Hand her over!"

In that instant, Sasuke, Kiba, Shino and Ino leapt in front of the carriage, dropped into an opposing, defensive line, each assumed into their own unique fighting stances. Ryoko immediately stopped strolling across the lake, just meters away from the shoreline as she watched the Genin take up defense of the carriage, save for little Haru, hiding behind the Jiao itself.

The red haired swordswoman grinned and reached up for her sword's handle on her back, an eerie breeze blowing between her and the Genin, each of them glaring her down furiously and nervously. They were unable to hold in the heads of sweat forming on their faces, as they had just witnessed this woman bring down four Jonin with a single move, and from the looks of it, permanently.

"Heh… are you sure you kids want to ride this train?"

"_Shadow Possession Jutsu!"_ a loud calling of a technique called from Shikamaru, standing on the far right of the group. Immediately, the shadow at his feet morphed and took shape, a stream of black shooting across the ground and straight towards the swordswoman. Ryoko shot the attack approaching her, a look, furrowing her brow as it gained ground on her.

Bringing her sword around, she swiped it through the air before bringing it around, ready to strike.

"Too easy…"

It was then Ryoko suddenly heard a whooshing sound, and she looked back towards the Genin amassed near the Jiao, where she saw a barrage of kunai flying in her direction. Gritting her teeth, the woman changed stances and, with a quick weight distribution changed, swung her blade through the air, swiftly knocking aside the barrage of kunai and shuriken flying at her. Cursing, she skipped back across the water to avoid the tentacle shadow extending towards her across the lake.

"You brats!" she growled, stopping some further distance away, just as Shikamaru's shadow reached its distance limit, and stopped. "Don't make this harder then it already is!"

She took another stance, but then looked up sharply, to see a Fuuma Shuriken hooking through the air above her, before shooting straight down at her, really fast. Ryoko grinned and side-stepped, avoiding the shuriken as it hooked down, and flew right past her from in front. However, the moment she stepped to avoid the massive, spinning weapon, her eyes caught the sight of a paper tag attached to one of the blades. Just as she was turning to jump away, the weapon exploded in a fiery, smoky cloud, engulfing the woman in a burning, blinding sensation.

Kiba grinned and threw a fist in the air. "Boo-yeah! Take that, bitch!" he shouted.

"That should have gotten her," Choji exclaimed.

The smoke cleared soon thereafter, and the Genin held their breath as they watched the cloud dissipate, only to discover to their dismay, Ryoko standing within the thin mists, hands held together in a recognizable hand seal, and the water around her rippling violently, indicating she had used a Water Wall Technique the moment before the explosion engulfed her. The red-haired woman gritted her teeth angrily as she glared directly at the Genin standing around her 'prize'.

"That's it! I've had it!" she growled, drawing her sword with a heavy swipe. "You're mincemeat you brats!" With a roar, she charged, sprinting across the lake straight towards them.

The moment her feet touched the soil, the Genin immediately took action. Sasuke ran forward to meet the woman half-way, kunai drawn. Running across open ground, he engaged her, the swordswoman striking out first, the raven haired Genin striking back, his blade meeting hers with a loud clang. Using the opposing force of his blade against hers, he cart wheeled over her sword as it slashed through the air, landing behind her and lashing out. Ryoko pivoted, meeting his next strike with a parry, and a couple more strikes she avoided from left to right, before kicking the Genin away. All the while, Sasuke tried to avoid making direct contact with her sword, knowing its abilities.

Winded, Sasuke skidded along the ground, digging the kunai he held in his right hand into the earth to slow his skid. He gripped his stomach and hissed, biting back the pain from the blow. Meanwhile, Kiba engaged the woman, coming in from her right. Sprinting low, the canine bearing by was really fast, thanks to his style of fighting taught to him, and when he was within range, twisted his body in mid-sprint, before exploding into a furry of movement, forming a visible drill as he hurled himself at his opponent. Ryoko gritted her teeth when she saw the horizontal moving tornado flying at her, and she brought her blade around to defend herself.

"_Piercing Fang Technique_!" Kiba roared, kipping up dust as he shot straight at the woman.

Yelling, Ryoko swiped out at her attacker, her blade making contact, sparks flying as Kiba's claws and technique fought back. However, with the woman's strength outmatching his own, and the blade cutting into his own technique, Kiba was thrown off, and the whirling drill was sent flying skywards, the red-haired swordswoman watching with a snarl.

"Ha! Take tha…"

"_Duel Piercing Fang Technique_!" Kiba shouted, while airborne, adjusting his position. Just as he did so, a second Kiba shot out from behind him, and both of them shot straight down at Ryoko, both spinning at a high velocity, forming two drill-tornado formations. The swordswoman, caught off guard, leapt back, just as the two Genin copies flew straight down at her, carving fine lines into the solid ground. She skidded to a halt, just meters away from where the two drills crossed paths, and surely would have decimated her.

Growling, the woman looked up, just in time to see a barrage of shuriken thrown by one, Ino Yamanaka flying at her. "Oh, come on!" she shouted, swinging her sword around and blocking each individual projectile, spinning on the spot, and swiping a cluster of them in mid-fall after blocking them. "These attacks are only prolonging the inevitable!" Ryoko yelled, immediately throwing the shuriken back at the blonde.

Ino took up a kunai, and blocked the barrage, only to get scarred by one or two she misplaced in her line of sights. Just as Ryoko was relaxing from her post-shuriken thrown stance, a shadow appeared around her and grew in size, causing the woman to look up. She saw to her shock, a green ball covering in kunai spinning towards her from above. The attacker was none other than Choji, having seen the opportunity to attack the moment she stepped onto land. The woman frowned and was about to move aside to avoid, only to find that she couldn't. Gritting her teeth, she looked down at her feet, tugging at her legs to get them to move, only to find that movement was not in her body's idea.

"Shit!" she cursed, looking up slightly to see a line of shadow attached to her own. She followed it up to a boy, kneeling beside the blonde haired girl that had attacked her earlier, hands locked into a hand sign. She gritted her teeth, struggling to move against the boy's Shadow Possession Technique. But before the swordswoman could take any action, Choji was already upon her, and in an earth shattering bang, was crushed beneath the spinning death-ball, crushing her into the ground, hurling up dust, debris and earth.

"Bulls-eye!" Shikamaru said with a grin.

Ino gave the peace-sign, watching as Choji buried the woman into the ground and rip her to shreds with his technique. "Ino-Shika-Cho Trio, successful, baby!"

"Nice!" Kiba shouted from the far right, still assumed into a fighting stance after just recovering from his missed shot at attacking Ryoko with the Duel Piercing Fang technique.

When the dust cleared, Choji could be seen sitting in the attack-made crater, sitting on his behind and panting from the effort of the technique. He wiped his forehead protector, looking up at the sky. "Man! That took a lot out of me from having to move that fast!"

"Good one Choji!" Shikamaru shouted.

Just as Choji was looking back to give his friends the thumbs up, a hand suddenly shot out of the ground, latching around his neck, followed by the body that then held him above the ground. Much to the surprise and disbelief at everybody standing around the scene, they watched as the red-haired enemy reappeared, dirty covered, clothes shredded, bruised, but ultimately still alive, and fighting fit. Shocked, the orange haired boy let out a startled, strangled yelp, as the now pissed-off Ryoko held him above the ground and glared, grip tightening around the boy's neck.

Choji gripped her wrist, kicking and pounding at her to let him go, but to no avail. She just throttled him, gritting her teeth angrily as she looked upon the boy's frightened face.

"That's it! No more games! I'm killing all of you, starting with…oof!" Ryoko began to yell, but just as she was about to finish, as well as perform a finishing move on Choji, she was suddenly blind-sighted by the kick sent to the side of her face from one, Sasuke Uchiha. The blow caused her to see stars for a moment, and she was thrown to the side, causing her to drop the boy she held by the wind-pipe.

Stumbling out of the crater, the woman took a stance, and watched as Sasuke came to the defense of his comrade.

"Damn it!" Ryoko hissed, blood suddenly starting to leak out of the corner of her lips. _"These troublesome brats, that last technique took a lot of chakra out of me. I only have enough to last me ten more minutes! I have to finish this quick!"_

Just as she was about to attack again, a blur caught her attention, and she leaned back in time to avoid a kunai. Just then, she caught the sound of loud buzzing noise, and looked to her right to see a cloud of bugs flying towards her. The cloud took shape, and formed into a giant, bat like creature, and it swooped down at her. The swordswoman slashed out with her sword, but seeing it cut through the swarm of insects without much effect, leapt back to avoid it charging at her. Amidst the Genin defending the Jiao, Shino could be seen commanding the insects expertly, hands outstretched, and little beetles crawling along his arms and face.

The cloud of insects moved again, spreading out to cover their range, swarming the young woman. Ryoko, retreating to the edge of the lake, sheathed her sword and quickly formed a series of hand seals. The insects charged her down, intent on catching her before she finished. But the swordswoman was too fast.

"_Water Release: Water Encampment Wall Technique_!" Ryoko shouted, and jets of water rose up and surrounded her.

The kikaichu bugs, their route blocked, branched out and retreated, not wanting to get wet. However, with the water wall in place, and protecting the swordswoman, gave Sasuke the opportunity to form his next attack. Performing a series of hand signs, Sasuke readied himself, and just as he was about to finish, he felt a hand placed on his back, and he looked behind him. There, he saw Naruto standing, bruised, bleeding from various wounds, especially the corners of his lips, and standing limply. As bad a shape he was win, Sasuke was shocked he was able to stay on his feet.

The blonde grinned at him. "Go for it!"

Nodding in understanding, Sasuke glared ahead of him, and formed the last hand seal.

"_Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique_!" Sasuke shouted, and with a great exhale of air, a humungous ball of fire shot out, one far greater then the Uchiha himself could create on his own. With Naruto adding his own element to Sasuke's technique, increased its potency a many times over. So much so, that it cut a huge channel in the soil and lake as it sped towards its target.

Ryoko's water defense technique dissipated just as Sasuke fired his own technique directly at her, and the red-haired swordswoman got quite a start when she saw the wall of fire charging her down. Startled, she reacted quickly, forming another series of hand seals, and defended against the Wind enhanced fire ball technique.

"_Secret Ninja Art: Water Hurricane Technique_!" Ryoko shouted, clasping her hands together into a hand-sign. That instant, with her eyesight and focus guiding the trajectory of her technique, the water in the path of the Grand Fireball Technique splashed and lashed around violently, before a massive waterspout shot out of the lake, meeting Sasuke's technique head on. The two techniques clashed in a violent storm of fiery orange heat, steam and clashing waves, as the two techniques both canceled each other out. Within seconds, both attacks began to dissipate.

While focusing on blocking out the fireball technique, Ryoko failed to notice the shadow approaching her from behind. That was until she saw the reflection in the water at her feet, and the young swordswoman looked up behind her in surprise. She saw the pink haired Genin that had attacked her before, descending from the skies above, fist cranked back, and glowing with blue chakra. Cursing, knowing that she was too caught up in canceling her technique, while defending against the fireball attack, had to move in order to block Sakura's incoming punch.

The young Genin let out a roar, and threw her fist forward, hoping to hit her target in the head. However, all she did was hit the side of Ryoko's sheathed sword on her back, the attack resounding with a loud clang, throwing both combatants flying. Ryoko spun and stumbled across the water, knocked off balance, whereas Sakura was hurled across the lake, surprised at the equalized forced her punch met. At that moment, both the Hurricane Technique, and the Grand Fireball Technique canceled out, leaving a very weary Sasuke standing on the shorelines.

Ryoko regained her balance, and made a grab for her sword. Her vision blurred, and she felt a little light-headed, and she figured it was either from the horse-kick like blow she received in the back, or the lack of chakra. Whatever the case, she was on her last legs.

"Darn you!" she shouted, unable to finish her statement, when another blur shot out from the water and steam falling back into the lake from her used up technique. Her attention changed, and she barely managed to avoid the lightning fast strikes of her attacker, which turned out to be a renewed Hinata. The young Hyuuga lashed out with a fury Ryoko was not prepared for, and the red-haired swordswoman had a lot of trouble blocking the blows before she was able to retreat safely.

Blocking Hinata's last palm strike with the edge of her sword, Ryoko hopped back across the water, now in defense mode, and unable to return any of these new attacks with her ninjutsu. She growled and shook her head, attempting to maintain consciousness.

"When I get my hands on you, you're all dead!"

"I'd like to see that!" Another shout sounded from behind her, and Ryoko looked over her shoulder. Her eyes widened when she saw the spiky haired blonde from before flying at her from just a few feet out, right arm outstretched and holding what looked like a blue ball of pure energy, pulsating and spinning with unbelievable energy. The clone that was helping to give the technique spin vanished the moment it was completed, and when it was, the swordswoman saw that it was the size of a basketball. Ryoko gritted her teeth, and brought her sword around to attack. "Hope you're ready!"

"No!" Ryoko growled slicing out at the descending boy with her blade. However, with a change in direction, Naruto ducked underneath it, and landed on the lake. This put him right inside of the woman's defenses and striking range, but she had left herself completely open with that last strike. He pulled back, ready to attack.

However, he stopped himself, the very moment he looked into Ryoko's eyes.

What he saw, he saw not only shock, awe and disbelief, but he also saw fear; the same fear he had experienced many times over when he was younger, when attacked by someone intent on harm. That segment of a second gave him a clear view of what his opponent had experienced in her own past life, reflected in her eyes. He didn't know how to explain it at first, but he knew he just couldn't bring himself to kill her, not yet. Killing wasn't foreign to him, but in this case, he opted for a different approach.

At the last second, Naruto changed the flow of chakra to his arm. The blue sphere that was easily recognizable as the Rasengan suddenly shattered like glass, chakra shards flying out of his palm, and disintegrating into what looked like flakes of snow that began to whirl around a disfigured version of the Rasengan. This version was much smaller than his Odama Rasengan and resembled a small whirlpool or tornado in his very palm.

"Wind Release: Broken Rasengan!" Naruto shouted, thrusting the attack into Ryoko's stomach. The attack was designed to reduce the effects of damage, and as soon as it made contact with the swordswoman, it erupted with a force that looked like it could kill. The young warrior let out a cry of agony, as cutting winds erupted around her, and within seconds, threw her off her feet, sending her spinning at a high velocity across the lake.

The Genin watching gaped in shock, especially Sasuke, Choji, Shikamaru and Ino, who had never seen this technique before. Even Kakashi and Kurenai, who had begun to regain their senses and were back on their feet, watched in shock. From behind the Jiao, Haru could see everything, and she was in awe at the true power displayed. The attack made excellent distance, cutting a nice channel into the lake as the enemy ninja was sent packing. After the first few seconds of flight, Ryoko was sent all the way to the other side of the lake. She skipped across the lake like a stone, before crashing into the cliff-face next to the waterfall on the far end. The impact was tremendous, dust, debris and earth flying everywhere.

As the rubble caved in around the impact spot, everyone knew that it was over…

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	13. Associates

**Author's Note:** Soz there wasn't an update on this story for a while. I had to resubmit this page because a few words were missing for some odd reason.

* * *

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Associates_

The rest of the journey to Katsumi's village was quite uneventful. Patching up their wounds quickly, thanks to those with medical experience on hand, although there were a lot of complaints from Anko above everyone else, the three teams and four Jonin, with their extra cargo in tow, headed the rest of the mile to their final destination. The breathtaking hillsides, forests and valleys quickly passed them by, and soon they were standing at the gates of a large stone wall that encompassed a huge village.

It was a sight taken right out of Imperial China, a thriving community with lovely gardens, huge estates and a large castle in the middle of the whole thing. All the buildings, accept for the castle in this village, were all colored the same, white walled, and painted dark blue on the woodwork and roofing, save for the floors.

The Land of the Bamboo Reeds really lived up to its name. In and around the village there were bamboo forests, trees and bushes. Ever since the teams left the lake and the normal trees behind, they had soon found themselves walking through forests of this type of flora. It was actually an incredible sight, and blended in with the geography perfectly.

By the time they arrived at the castle, it was late in the afternoon, the commotion earlier today having held them back by hours. The brief glimpses around the village as Team 7, Team 8 and Team 10 walked down the main road on route for the central building, bared remnants of the coup that had ended not so long ago. People were rebuilding damages from the riots and fighting, and it seemed to be coming along quite nicely.

Upon arrival, the ninja were ushered up a twenty story high stair case, much to the disdain of the group carrying the Jiao, which were Ino, Choji, Kiba and Shino at the time, and into the castle. The spectacular main hall, with its numerous balconies, stair ways and rooms was to be their last stop. The onslaught of guards loyal to the royal family and those servants, who would be assisting the princess, meant that the large ninja escort could finally be relieved of duty, and the VIP they were escorting, her real name now known as Princess Katsumi, was taken to her room.

The ninja, meanwhile, were given their own rooms somewhere on the second floor, and once taken their by the able guards, deposited themselves around the room and between the paper wall dividers. After being told by the Captain of the Guard that they would be receiving their pay shortly, they were then left to their own devices.

"Now hold still Anko, this is going to hurt…"

_**RIP!**_

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH! SON OF A BITCH!" the snake mistress shrieked, keeling over forwards when Sakura pulled a large stick lodged in her back on her right side. Hinata, Ino, Sasuke, Haru, Shino and Naruto, who were also in the same room, watched on with different expressions in play as they observed a tear strung Jonin wither around on her stomach. Naruto shook his head with a grin, Sasuke and Shino just stared, Ino giggled, and Hinata timidly watched with worry. Little Haru just sat where she was on her pillow, watching curiously.

"I warned you, didn't I?" Sakura said with an amused smile.

"Yeah… sure… whatever… dammit to hell!" the woman groaned.

"You know for an elite Jonin, you really don't have a high tolerance for pain?" Ino pointedly said.

"Hey! Nobody likes having things sticking in them and ripped out when it has to be at least a foot long and half a foot deep!" the woman growled, sitting back up again so Sakura could continue fixing her up. Naruto and Sasuke sniggered, and even Shino shook with silent chuckles. Anko glared up at them, a tick mark on her forehead. "I should really think before I speak…"

Out of all who had fought, Anko had to be the most wounded, since she was literally sent skipping two-hundred meters across the lake and ground surface, during their battle with Ryoko. As a result, she was bruised up badly, had cuts on her face, and debris stuck in her in several places. Kakashi was second, having been thrown through a tree and was lying in bed with a few cracked ribs, a sprained ankle and a broken arm. Asuma, whose students had taken a picture of the sprawl mark of himself he had made in the ground after his crash landing, had to have stitches around his nose, bandages wrapped around his sprained leg and arm, and his dehydrated, raisin of an arm now almost back to normal, in a sling. Kurenai just had a concussion, with a bunch of bruises and cuts to boot. Overall, the group was pretty much okay.

Naruto's quick healing factors meant he was out of his sling and bandages in no time, although the deeper wounds in his side would have to wait a bit longer. He was a part of the group put in a room across from the others, with Kakashi, Asuma, Kiba, Akamaru, Shikamaru, Choji and Kurenai put in the room next to them. The room Naruto and his group were in was a great one, a balcony view of the whole village, a huge lounge room (where they were all scattered around) with a coffee table, pots of flowers here and there, pictures hung up on pale yellow walls, and beanbags laid out for sitting, with three bedrooms hidden behind sliding doorways, a kitchen in the room near the balcony, and a bathroom across from it. It was definitely an upper-class suite.

The people in the other room, having had a long day, were using whatever time they had to rest up and have time to heal. Shikamaru was sleeping, as was Asuma, or… he was unconscious… either way he was completely out of it, Kakashi was reading his Icha Icha by the balcony, Kurenai was admiring a lot of the flowers in her room, Kiba was playing around quietly with Akamaru, and Choji was pottering around, checking out the pictures hanging on the walls and everything else in the room.

As for the other group, the aftermath of the day's events left them plenty of free time to dawdle.

With Sakura fishing for debris from Anko's back, who was sitting with a towel covering her bare chest and shredded trench coat wrapped around her, the others just hung around, doing stuff. Sasuke was engaged in a game of go-fish with Little Haru, Shino was chatting with Hinata, and Ino was with Naruto on the other end of the room, looking over their other patient.

It was at the sight of the latter two that Anko glared over at them for.

"B.T.W Naruto… why did you have to bring _**her**_ with you?" the Jonin asked, gesturing towards the red haired swordswoman lying at their feet in plain view, wrapped in bandages and lying under a blanket, unconscious, while Naruto and Ino knelt on her other side, gazing down at her.

Apparently, after making sure everyone else on his team was okay, Naruto had gone on a brief mission to pick up the swordswoman, and piggyback her for the rest of the way to their destination. The blonde had made the decision at the end of the fight to not leave the woman where she was to die, and decided to bring her along. He didn't want to end it with so little questions answered and many unanswered.

Ino looked up at Naruto questioningly. "Yeah, Naruto. You do know she is the woman who tried to slice and dice us earlier today."

"Well… I just have that little voice inside of me… you know… the little angel on my shoulder, my conscience… whatever," the boy replied with a grin. "Either way, I cannot pass up the opportunity to get some information out of her."

"That's… actually pretty reasonable," Shino spoke up. "She is, after all, a rogue ninja from one of the main countries. There is the possibility that she is hiding secrets that our village would desire to get their hands on."

"The hell about the village, I just want to learn about the other Seven Ninja Swordsmen," Naruto said, reaching behind him and pulling out Raiga's swords. He held them out and gestured to them in emphasis to his next point. "There is information I need that is irrelevant to Konohagakure. Besides, I think she can be a valuable comrade in arms."

This statement had everyone stop what they were doing, with almost everyone, including Shino (surprisingly enough) gawking at him. Sasuke dropped the cards he was holding as he stared bewildered at the blonde, Haru taking this opportunity to look at his cards, with Sakura's mouth dropping in the background, and Ino's face turning incredibly pale. Apparently, the other people in the room on the other side of the divider heard Naruto as well, and when the door slid open, Kiba, Shikamaru and Choji poked their heads through in totem pole fashion, with Akamaru at the top.

_**"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTT!"**_

"Do you have any threes?" Haru exclaimed, taking a card Sasuke had dropped, giggling happily. "YAY! I love this game!"

"You can't be serious, Naruto?" Ino said, the boy smiling at her casually.

"Every one of the Seven Legendary Swordsmen is insane on a number of levels, and all of them have incredible tendencies for violence," Anko stated, before pointing accusingly at the unconscious girl, who had moved around a bit in response to the loud noises echoing around her. "This one is particularly crazy, crazier then me and Kakashi over there!" She thumbed behind her, obviously pointing at the individual lying in the other room. "He's been wetting his bed till he was twelve!"

"HEY!"

"Oh grow up Kakashi; Rin and I are good friends, we don't keep secrets from each other!" Anko shouted.

"That's not what I'm 'heying' you about!"

"Either way, we can't have someone like _**that**_ walking around the village," Anko said.

"You guys let me walk around the village," Naruto stated, frowning at his sensei. It was _this_ statement that had the Jonin stop her trail of speech in its tracks.

"Naruto…" a new voice said, that had the blonde look up. Hinata was smiling at him fidgeting a bit as she found her voice again. "If you think it is okay, then I…I trust you."

Shino shrugged and looked away, while Sasuke just went back to his game, looking back and forth from the new cards he picked up, back to Naruto. All the while, he thought about what the boy was talking about, since there was so much they didn't know about the blonde ninja. Sakura, knowing that her friend meant well, simply smiled at him and nodded, with Ino moving a bit in discomfort, feeling all the emotions from years past and doubt that she felt for her village companion coming back at her full force.

"Thanks Hinata…" Naruto said with a smile, as he put Raiga's swords back behind him

"Well… we'll just have to wait and see when we get back to the village," Kiba said out right, earning a yip from Akamaru.

"You'll have to pass this by the Hokage first, before you make the stupid decision for her to move in with you as well," Shikamaru stated, bringing his head back onto their side. "Honestly, this is such a drag…"

"Great idea, Shikamaru; she can live with **me**," Naruto exclaimed.

"Like _**hell**_ she will-_**POKE-**_ OH LORD HAVE MERCY!" Anko roared, pounding the ground as Sakura applied the disinfectant to her back and smeared it over her wounds. Gritting her teeth she looked up, seeing everyone looking at her, with Choji and Kiba snickering behind her. "WHAT ARE YOU BRATS LOOKING AT?" Everyone immediately turned away and resumed their activities, with Shino whistling with his hands in his pockets. The purple haired Jonin then rounded on the other two kids poking their heads into the room, whom pulled themselves back in and shut the dividers in their wake. "THAT'S BETTER!"

"Regardless, if I can get this proposal to fly, I believe that this harboring-the-deadly-swordswoman deal will actually work," Naruto stated confidently. "All I need to do is speak with her…"

"How do you plan on doing that? It's not like she's going to regain consciousness any time soon," Sasuke said, picking up a card off the deck, with Little Haru glaring up at him cutely.

"Got any twos?" she asked. Frowning, Sasuke handed her the card he had just picked up.

"Lucky…" he grumbled. Haru stuck her tongue out at him in response.

Thinking a bit, Naruto snapped his fingers and glanced over at Ino, who was checking the bandages underneath the blanket covering the young swordswoman. The fact that the red-headed rogue ninja was wearing just her panties, with her chest wrapped in bandages, showing off a lot of her cleavage, didn't distract the boy in the least. Although to be fair, after being with Jiraiya for a while, he couldn't help but steal a glance.

"Hey, how are her wounds doing?"

"Fine. She may be able to get up and walk around a bit, but for some reason she is still out," Ino replied, looking up at the blonde. "Why do you ask?"

Grinning mischievously, Naruto turned towards the dividers. "HEY CHOJI!"

"YO!" the boy poked his head through on call.

"You remember the time when Shikamaru fell asleep and we came up with that special… uhh…'remedy' to get him up and running again? Well…" Naruto's grin grew even wider. "I want you to cook up the…_**Red Dragon**__!_"

It was at this, a grin sprouted on Choji's face that put Naruto's to shame, throwing the doors open and shutting them behind him in a cinematic way, the boy rubbed his hands together and laughed evilly. "OKAY! THE _**RED DRAGON**_ SHALL RISE AGAIN!"

The boy dashed over to the kitchen, and immediately began going through the cupboards and fridge, looking for the ingredients he needed. All the while, everyone in the room was watching with great interest and puzzlement as this new commotion began erupting between the scheming food-lovers. Ino blinked, and looked at Naruto when a particular memory popped into her head.

"Wait a minute… isn't the _Red Dragon_ that…"

"SHH-SHH-SHHSHHH!" Naruto placed his finger on the girl's lips, making her blush at the contact. The blonde smiled at the girl. "Don't spoil the surprise…"

Choji returned soon after his frantic search with a variety of vegetables, cans, and spices and bottles in hand, and of course a blender. The Akimichi boy planted himself next to Naruto, dumped the contents on the ground around them, and immediately, the pair set to work. The whole process started with a dozen chili pieces cut up, followed by dumping a whole container of grounded pepper into the blender, along with a whole bottle of hot sauce with five X's on the side. This was then mixed with juice from tomatoes, oregano, chili powder, carrots, and a list of other stuff that would be considered _plutonium_ by chefs alike. Once it was blended, Choji then mixed it with garlic and oyster sauce, water and cinnamon, before throwing in a single cherry, and started the blender once again.

"What's that for?" Ino asked, clearly about the cherry they just threw in, while looking bewilderedly at the bubbly, wafting contents of the machine.

"Gives it a little _**kick**_!" Choji exclaimed, holding up a fist.

Naruto, resting the unconscious swordswoman's head in his lap, then stuck a funnel in between her lips. He watched Choji, after turning off the blender, picked it up and poured it into three separate glasses.

"Very few ninja have survived the sheer burning magnitude and ferocity of _**the**_ _**Red Dragon!**_" Naruto said dramatically, looking up towards Sakura and the others. "When we were around six, Shikamaru, Kiba, Choji and I used to hang out a bit on days when we would skip classes, and went off to loiter about the park and village. One day, Choji and I, Jonesing for stew, came up with a few substitutes for our own gumbo, and experimented with them… the last one we tried out on Shikamaru. We were amazed at the results, and added it to our… 'Special' cook books!"

"This juice is _**legendary**_! A great wake up formula for when you are in deep hibernation or just plain drunk from sake! Its taste, consistency and potency are incredible!" Choji stated, looking especially proud. "It is truly a recipe worthy of its name!"

"I have to say, it's much better warmed up. How is it?" Naruto asked. Choji dipped his finger in and tasted it. He nodded.

"We're good to go."

"Excellent!" Naruto reached into his pocket and pulled out a clothes-line peg, and placed it on the woman's nose. He looked up and everybody else. "You guys are going to love this! Oh… and you may want to step back a bit…seriously…" The boy added.

Everybody did so, even Anko who was still having her back fixed up by Sakura.

The drama that was taking place was intense, as Choji began pouring the slushy, gurgly concoction down the swordswoman's throat. The sound of a bottle being drained was heard as the girl consumed the drink, not knowing what was about to happen a few seconds later.

Once Choji had emptied the entire cup down her throat, he too shuffled back, weary of the juice's effects. After a few seconds of waiting, nothing happened. But then, everything just seemed to explode in a blink of an eye.

Ryoko's eyes flew open, and in true anime form, her cheeks bloated up, eyes watered, and her entire face turned red, rising like a thermometer dipped in lava. Steam shot out of her ears, and the clothes-peg struggled to stay on her nose as the condensation attempted to escape as well, sweat pouring down her face like a waterfall.

Then, all at once, the woman shot up, mouth agape as fire shot out of her mouth, burning the wall with a scream of agony following it.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! WAAAAAAAAAATTTEEEEEEEERRRR!"

Springing to her feet, the woman began running and jumping around the room frantically, amusingly looking for a source of water. She spotted the vase of flowers, in a split second getting to its stand, emptied it of its floral contents, and drank all the water in it down. That failing, she ran into the kitchen, turning on the tap full blast, and stuck her mouth around the nozzle. Her mouth still on fire, she gave up on that and ran back to Naruto and Choji. Spotting the tomato sauce, she grabbed that, stuck out her tongue, and poured the sauce all along it. This seemed to finally douse the burning a little, and once she had emptied the bottle, tossed it aside.

Huffing and swaying, the red-faced girl moved awkwardly from side to side on the spot for a few seconds before collapsing to the ground, only to be caught by a clearly entertained Naruto.

Groaning, the flushed girl looked up, seeing the spiky haired blond and the other two kids who were at her side, looking down at her. Blinking with tears in her eyes, the girl gargled a little before eventually spitting out understandable words.

"Do whatever you want to me, I'll tell you whatever you need to know… just promise me you'll never give me whatever the hell that was you poured down my throat again, I beg of you," Ryoko said through a hoarse voice.

"Excellent, then we can start talking," Naruto said, smiling.

"Just what the hell was that?" Sakura asked, eyes-widened. Everyone who had watched the entire event unfold was in a stupor, the spectators looking toward Naruto and Choji for answers.

"**That**… was the _**Red Dragon!**_" Choji said, slamming his fist to his chest in a salute. "Kami bless the majesty and beauty of the gift you have given us!"

"No shit! That was one fire breathing bitch," Anko exclaimed, a grin on his face. "You have got to give me the recipe!"

"Come over to my place one day and I will give you a whole tub full! The recipe is a secret shared between the creators!" Choji stated, folding his arms towards a disappointed Anko. "The dragon is a beast that comes and goes, it does not linger, nor does it boast its power, but unleashes it in a blind fury!"

"Anyway," Naruto began, looking down at the still red faced girl, whose head was on his lap again. "I want to ask you a few things Ryoko… first, tell me…do you know where the blue, fish-head of a teammate of yours is hiding right now, and what's the secret behind him and his Samehada?"

"Huh?" Ryoko raised an eyebrow, before memory clicked back into gear. "Oh… that bastard! Well… even though we did keep an oath as the _Seven Legendary Swordsman_ the expiration date for it has been long passed since _**he**_ left our group. Kisame was the strongest of us, and was the Mizukage's favorite tool at his disposal, but the freak had a habit of stabbing people in the back. When he left and joined the Akatsuki, I went after him with Zabuza as backup to get him back, but he nearly killed the both of us. That time was the last I saw of him… and I have no idea where he is now…"

"Geez… that's encouraging…" Naruto grumbled, rubbing his forehead. He was surprised at how easily she was able to cave to his question, but given her situation, and the fact that she was still woozy from consuming a whole cup full of spicy hot chili soaked whatever that could literally burn the tongue off of someone, meant that she could not fight them. She was defenseless at the moment, muscles unresponsive thanks to Naruto's Broken Sharingan technique, low on chakra, and her sword was propped up against the wall on the other side of the room. The girl seemed quite fragile and timid… for the moment anyway.

She just seemed to open up completely to him.

"How do you know the bastard? What's your beef with him?" Ryoko asked.

Naruto looked up, seeing that everyone around him, especially Sakura, Ino and Anko, were listening in on the conversation intently. He could also see silhouettes of the others in the room opposite them against the dividers, clearly eavesdropping on the discussion. Shaking his head, the blonde looked back down at Ryoko's, her face now returning to its normal color, but still she looked a fair bit tired.

"Let's just say a lot of people would prefer it if I wasn't alive right now," Naruto said, shrugging. "I have a history, and my beef with Kisame is between me and his posse. Let's just leave it at that."

"Uh-huh…"

"What about his Samehada? What's his connection to it?"

"Samehada is a monstrous blade, the most terrible of all the Seven Ninja Swordsman's weapons, which only Kisame himself can use. It also seems to be sentient in nature, feeding chakra between itself and its wielder, and gathering it not only from its victims but its surroundings!" Ryoko said, racking her brain for more information. "This gives Kisame his insane strength. I have no idea where he got that sword from, but when I was introduced to the group and tried to wield it when he offered me, it cut my hands up badly… and when I tried alternative ways of holding it, it tried to eat me! The fact of the matter is, no one in the history of our village has ever been able to beat Kisame, since he can increase his chakra levels to that of his opponents' and greater…"

"I see…" Naruto said, frowning at the facts relayed to him. "Makes beating him impossible then. But…"

"But what?"

"Nothing… anyway… I have one last question for you for now on this subject, how many more of the Seven Legendary Swordsman is still alive?"

"There is Zabuza, Kisame and myself… Raiga was killed by you, Hikita is dead but still walking around somehow, and Chojiro replaced Tsukahara when he was assassinated, and Kariya was killed by Zabuza when he attempted to assassinate the Mizukage, so all in all, there are five of the Seven Ninja Swordsman still alive," Ryoko stated. She looked away, a little bit displeased at having to reveal all of this information. "I'm one of the original swordsmen… one not too proud of her history…"

Naruto just stared down at her, having absorbed all of the info she had managed to pass onto him. The others were also silent, as they contemplated whatever it was the two of them had been talking about. Perhaps only the Jonin present and listening in knew full well what the two ere talking about, whereas the Genin were either more confused then ever before, or were starting to understand a bit about what was going on with this group of mysterious yet powerful warriors from the Land of Water.

After being enveloped in the silence for long enough, Naruto nudged the red-head young adult, who looked up at him in question.

"Hey… what would you say if I was to ask you if you would be interested in joining Konohagakure's ninja forces? You know… become one of our village's ninja?" Naruto asked.

The question came as a bit of a shock to the young woman, who stared up at the boy with wide-eyes.

"What?"

"Please don't make me repeat the question. I just want to get it over with so I can make some preparations or do something with my time," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head and groaning.

"You would seriously ask me to join your goody-two-shoes of a village?" Ryoko asked, raising an eyebrow at the boy. "What's in it for me?"

"Well, I can offer you a place to stay, instead of you having to wander around the surrounding countries, homeless and eat off the streets every damn day, plus I can get you immunity from the Hidden Mist Village, so that if any of their hunter nin are chasing after you, they can just go and fuck themselves," Naruto said, shrugging. "And we won't have to kill you or torture you…and torture you, as in whatever my sensei over there has planned for you." Naruto gestured towards the purple haired Jonin, who was busily twirling a kunai between her fingers. It wasn't just any kunai, but one with serrated edges. "I've seen what she can do with that; she even went as far as demonstrating it on an orange, and from how she described it to me, it's not a pretty sight."

"Damn right it isn't…" Anko said, grinning and running her tongue along the blade's flat side. "But it is so much fun playing with my food."

"Yeah… I still can't look at an orange without feeling nauseous," the blonde said, shaking his head and looking down at Ryoko, seeing girl smirking up at him. "Of course, in exchange, you're going to have to talk to Ibiki about your village for a solid six hours, standard protocol and all…"

"Ibiki?"

"He's our resident interrogator… whom still owes me two-hundred ryu from our gambling night," Naruto said. "It's a great village… and it doesn't rain that often as well…"

Ryoko laughed, grinning up at the young boy. "You think you can seduce me with promises of freedom, betterment for my future, cleaner living and fancy perks, aye brat? Well… I ain't buyin' it. I've been around a lot of the surrounding countries, and believe me when I say this; nobody completely accepts outsiders like me, especially ninja from the Hidden Mist Village. Everybody hates us. In all honesty, you're going to have to offer me a bit more then a home and immunity…"

"Konohagakure also has the best hot springs out of all the shinobi nations…"

"You've got yourself a deal brat!" Ryoko quickly said. Grinning, Naruto shook hands with the young girl, Anko laughing in the background at how easily she caved, while the Genin around her were still a little bewildered from what had happened already.

"Excellent! Then it is agreed!" Naruto picked up one of the two remaining cups Choji had poured them and held it up. "Want to toast to this fabulous occasion?"

"HELL NO!" Ryoko shouted, recognizing the beverage. "KEEP THAT SATAN OF A DRINK AWAY FROM ME!"

Naruto shrugged. "Your loss… Choji?" The boy smirked and picked up the other glass. He held it up to the blonde. "To healthy living!"

"To a job well done!" Choji replied.

"_**ITADAKIMASU!"**_

Clinging glasses, the two of them chugged, and everyone surrounding them backed away a couple of meters at their willingness to drink that… that… they still had no idea what to classify the _**Red Dragon**_ as. Ryoko was squirming about where she lay, unable to move due to still being sore, as well as dizzy from her drink. She bit her bottom lip as she watched the two boys drink it all, slamming their glasses down on the floor.

Within seconds, their faces turned red, their cheeks bloated and steam shot out of their ears as their eyes were held shut. All at once, the pair breathed out a column of fire, followed by cries of agony. Seconds later, their yells died down and their faces turned back to their normal shades and coloring. Sighing, the pair bumped fists, grinning.

"THAT HIT THE SPOT!" Choji exclaimed.

"You said it!" Naruto also shouted. He then tapped his drink, licking his lips and giving some thought to the taste. "You know… toss in a pinch of salt and it might actually give it a better flavor…"

"You two are insane," Ino said, who was huddled up against the side of the wall, edged away from the two with the iron stomachs and steel tongues. "How can you drink that stuff?"

"Unlike the other shinobi of our village, we have tamed the _**Red Dragon**_!" Choji said while high fiving Naruto proudly.

Sasuke was just plain gawking at the two of them, with Sakura shaking her head with an amused smirk and Hinata smiling happily, clapping her hands in congratulations. Anko, now bandaged up, redressed and back on her feet, walked over to Naruto and the swordswoman on his lap. Hands on her hips, she grinned down at Naruto, Ino, Choji and Ryoko, all of whom looked up at the towering terror of a ninja.

"Well… welcome to the club girly. As soon as you are better, I'm going to be having a lot of fun with you," Anko exclaimed, holding up her fist. "What I do know about the Seven Legendary Swordsmen is that without water, a good half of your jutsu is deemed unusable. Maybe on dry land we can have a proper fight…"

Ryoko smirked at her. "We'll see."

She then looked up at Naruto, seeing him smiling as well. After studying the boy for a while, closely admiring his face and, getting a feel of his chakra thanks to her abilities as one of the legendary swordsmen of Kirigakure, the red-head smiled lightly and raised an eyebrow, a bit of red growing on her cheeks. Her expression caught Naruto's attention, the redness on her face going unnoticed.

"What is it?"

"You know… you're pretty cute for a Genin…"

"That's it! Come with me!" Sakura growled, stomping over and grabbing the boy by the back of his shirt and dragging him out of the room, leaving Ryoko lying where she was. Anko laughed as she watched her pink haired student woman-handle the blonde, with Hinata following after them out the door. After seeing them disappear, she looked down at the swordswoman and winked at her as she continued to stare after the boy with a loving smile.

"You have good taste girly. Currently there are a few girls buying for that boy's affections, including myself," Anko exclaimed, licking her lips. "He may be young, but he has stamina…"

Shino looked at the Jonin with a raised eyebrow, and if anyone could see under his glasses and high collar, he was gaping with a very disturbed look on his face. Sasuke didn't really care much since he was so engrossed with his next card game with Haru, but nevertheless blushed brightly at what statements were being thrown around. Ino fidgeted uncomfortably, knowing that she was one of the girls after Naruto as well, and was a little surprised at the sensei as well.

Ryoko just chuckled and looked towards the ceiling.

"I think I am going to enjoy Konohagakure…"

Joined by Choji, Sasuke and Little Haru played a game of 'bullshit', glaring whole-heartedly at the cards in their hands, and trying to determine whether the person across from them was lying or not.

"Ten of spades!" Sasuke said.

"Two of spades!" Choji exclaimed, putting down his card.

"Ace of spades!" Haru exclaimed.

"HA! CHEAT!" Sasuke yelled, pointing accusingly at the girl. Haru smiled and flipped the card over, showing off the great Uchiha's blunder. Gawking, Sasuke cried out and fell over.

"Haha! You lose!"

* * *

_**Later that night…**_

Naruto had managed to slip away from the rest of the gang, and had gone to relax down in the palace hot springs. For everything he knew about the Land of Bamboo Reeds, they had great hot springs and baths, and had the largest collection of herbal soaps and shampoos, this being their great exports. The very first thing Naruto noticed when he entered the village was that it smelled divine, and that came from the various springs and plants that grew here. It was incredibly welcoming to him, and he was immediately taken in by the scents.

As he sat in the hot bath, clouded by steam and enjoying the warmth and sights presented by the spring, such as the night sky high above him and the flora decorating the outdoor enclosure, Naruto couldn't help but feel glad for Katsumi, and how she was so lucky to be ruling this village. He sighed in enjoyment and relief, face flushed and towel folded and placed on top of his head.

"Aaaahhh… this is the life," Naruto exclaimed happily. "Nothing like a nice hot bath to sooth the soul; I love this place."

While he was enjoying himself, he heard the telltale splashes of someone else entering the bath, and looked over towards the point of entry. Through the steam, he saw the silhouette of a familiar approaching him, wading its way through the shallow bath towards him. Thinking it was one of the guys, Naruto smiled and waved.

"Yo! How's it goin'?"

"It's going great Naruto-kun…"

Now… the blonde immediately picked up something wrong with the voice that had passed through his ears, with how he showed his reaction, it was like he had been struck by lightening. He easily recognized the voice belonging to…

"K-KATSUMI-CHAN!" the boy shrieked, almost standing up, but kept down knowing he was wearing nothing below the waist. He watched as the familiar black haired girl stepped into view, wrapped in a towel with her mask perched on her head. The girl giggled and waved at him. "W-W-What are you doing in the men's area?"

"Aww… is my little Naruto-kun embarrassed that I'm sharing a bath with him?" the girl asked, sitting down next to the boy and scooting closer to him. She removed the towel around her and leaned into him, gazing up at the boy as he stared down at her, wide-eyed and face flushed. "Hey… I'm High Princess of these lands now; I can go into whatever bath I want…"

"W-W-W-W-Why would you come into the men's side then?" the blonde asked, shaking from head to toe as he felt the girl's hand lay gently on his chest and rub it affectionately, just as her head perched itself on his shoulder.

"I want to hang around with you silly, just to say thanks for protecting me today," she replied, her voice clearly laced with sincerity and love. Katsumi sighed as she nuzzled him. "You always make me feel so safe."

"I…I appreciate the thought, thanks," Naruto replied shakily. "B-But, I really don' t want you and I to be caught in here… together… you know… since I don't want to have the living snot beat out of me by the others on my team."

"Why? Who's gonna care?" Another voice queried from Naruto's other side, the boy jumping when he immediately recognized that voice. Sitting next to him, drinking sake and was as equally naked as Katsumi, was Anko. The woman had let her hair down for the bath, and was enjoying the springs greatly. She grinned down at the boy in that trademark way. "Hey, Gaki! Manning up I see… you know…" She slid up beside him, giving the boy a good view, not to mention and good feel of her sizable chest. "I like tough guys who can take a punch… they're really a turn on for me…"

"S-S-Sensei… please, at least show some decency," Naruto almost cried, now sandwiched between the two girls. Anko laughed out and wrapped an arm around the boy, treating him like he was a casual friend sitting next to her.

"Please! I don't care about that decency crap. Heck, I show up at work dressed in my undergarments and wearing a trench coat… who gives a damn about descency!" the woman shouted, having another sip of sake.

"My, Naruto-kun… you really are popular with the girls," Katsumi said, hugging him tighter and scooting up against him even more. "I'm so glad!"

"_What is this? Not so long ago I was a repellent towards girls, now I've become the exact opposite! I'm a girl magnet! I'm scared!"_

Naruto whimpered and tried to snake away, but realized he couldn't. Instead, he just resigned to lying where he was, his left cheek breast up against the side of Anko's breast and his other cheek being nuzzled by Katsumi's cheek. Things for him just couldn't get any better, or worse… or even better… however he looked at it, it was like a mini ping-pong game in his head.

"Naruto-kun!" another voice called out through the hot spring, and Naruto was now praying that Kami that if he got out of this alive, he swore he would start recycling more.

Sakura appeared out of the mist, and upon seeing Katsumi and Anko sandwiching the boy, stopped in her tracks. She stared down at the blonde, blinking as she started analyzing his situation. Naruto, knowing he wasn't going to be getting any protection from Katsumi or Anko, since the princess was more for reason then fighting and his teacher just plain didn't care what happened to him, he was literally a blinking target for a punch to his face or a stomp on his valuables. He put his hands together and continued praying hard.

However, if luck should serve him another time that day, Sakura just shrugged the situation off. With a cheerful giggle, the pink haired girl lunged at him, landing flat on top of the boy, who jumped in shock and cried out a little. His teammate giggled and hugged him close to her.

"Boy this is a great spring! We should go to them more often, don't you think so, Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked happily.

"Uhhh…"

"Hey forehead, what do you think you are doing?"

"Oh geez…" Naruto groaned, spotting not only Ino standing over them, but Hinata as well, both of them wrapped in towels and clearly invading the boy's hot springs. Sakura, looking back, saw the pale haired blonde and her other teammate, and smiled smugly at them.

"What… can't get any place to grab, Ino-Pig?" Sakura replied. The blonde girl huffed and stomped over, shoving her to the side and hugging up close to Naruto, who was now not only sandwiched with the wall, but between four girls already. Soon he would be suffocated to death.

"I'll show you!" Ino then smiled sweetly up at Naruto, who leaned back a bit with a red face. "Naruto-kun… do I make you feel a bit…_uncomfortable_?" she asked slyly, grinding against him. The boy squirmed a bit, and nodded his head.

"Uhh… umm… a bit… you're crushing my…"

"Oh, don't mind it…" Ino exclaimed, leaning up to him and licking his cheek. "I think this is nice…"

"You tell him, blondie," Anko exclaimed, now getting a little ditzy from having one to many sake.

"Uhh… what about me, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, getting on all fours and snaking her way up the boy's body, squeezing in between Sakura and Ino. Naruto was getting far too uncomfortable for his liking, not from embarrassment and having girls crowding around him, but the fact that he was being pushed too far into the wall. Still, the Hyuuga girl pressed forward and leaned up towards the blonde, smiling lovingly. "Can I join in…?"

"Oooohhh…" At this point, he was out of words.

"Would you like a massage, Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked happily, giving his shoulder and arm a squeeze.

"I'll take his legs!" Katsumi exclaimed.

"I've got his shoulders covered!" Ino said happily.

"Fine! I get his chest and sides!" Sakura stated.

"I don't care what I get, so long as I have _something_ to rub!" Anko shouted, her voice slurring.

"DO I GET TO DECIDE WHAT HAPPENS TO ME? Naruto screamed.

"_**NO!"**_ Was his reply…

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	14. Roomies

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Roomies_

Early the next morning, Naruto Uzumaki suddenly, while lying peacefully beneath his covers in a semi-conscious state of sleep, began laughing and giggling nonstop, his body moving around on its own on his futon when he felt a strange tickling sensation on his right foot. He tried kicking out a bit to stop whatever it was that was attacking his foot, and rid himself of this torture, but it just would not cease.

Last night, the blonde had decided to change his sleeping arrangements, and moved away from Anko to sleep in between Sasuke and Shino, so that the girls wouldn't get to him. Much to his suppressed joy and perverted nature, he had been smothered by Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Kushina, and shockingly enough his own sensei, while he was relaxing in the hot springs. Of course there had been a rather strange massage therapy session, followed by some kisses and cuddling, but nothing too hentai; until Anko started pulling moves on him.

He managed to escape with his life…

And now, after half a night of sleeping with his eyes open and the other half actually sleeping, Naruto was now receiving a rather strange wake up call. Since he had very strange sleeping habits, he tended to sprawl out over a wide distance, and at this point had moved out from under his blanket and had rolled across Shino and Sasuke. With his head resting on Shino's blanket like a pillow and his legs over the Uchiha, things didn't seem that strange until he stuck his foot in the boy's mouth by accident.

Waking to the taste of something foul, Sasuke's eyes widened when he realized he was sucking on someone's toe, and sat up, yelling and gagging.

"GAAOOHHH! DISGUSTING! GET OFF OF ME, DOBE!" Sasuke yelled, retching and spitting. "GOD! DO YOU EVER CLEAN YOUR FEET?"

The commotion seemed to rouse Sakura and Hinata, both of whom looked towards the Uchiha in annoyance.

"Hey… what's with all the noise?" the pink haired girl groggily asked.

"We're trying to sleep… please…" Hinata mumbled, before falling back onto her pillow, picking it up and smothering her face with it. "Too tired…" she yawned.

Naruto sat up as well, blinking as he woke himself up slowly. He pushed off of his pillow, which he didn't realize was Shino. The bug boy also woke when he felt an unexpected discomfort on his chest, and looked down his body to see his blonde companion using him as a pillow.

"W-What's going on?" the whisker marked boy asked, scratching his head. He was dressed in just a singlet and a pair of black track pants. He moved his other foot off of Sasuke, who was still holding in the urge to puke. "Why is my foot wet?"

"YOU STUCK YOUR FOOT IN MY MOUTH!" Sasuke shouted.

"Eh…?"

"YOU VIOLATED MY TONGUE WITH YOUR CORNS! HOW ELSE DO YOU EXPECT ME TO RESPOND!" Sasuke yelled a second time. Looking away, he stuck out his tongue and started cleaning it with his hands in a futile attempt to get rid of the taste.

"Ngh…" With a shrug, Naruto rolled onto his side and went back to nuzzling his pillow. Shino sweated animatedly as he watched the other ninja pat his blanket covered stomach, and shook his head in disgruntlement.

The member of Team 8 then watched as the groggy and dazed blonde slowly began to realize how uncomfortable his 'pillow' was, with Naruto sitting up to show this realization.

"Hang on a second… this isn't my pillow…" the spiky haired boy mumbled. Sitting up fully, he looked at the other end of his puffy head-rest, where he discovered to his shock he had been lying on Shino the whole time. The bug boy nodded to him, glasses over his face as per normal.

"Comfortable?" Shino asked.

Naruto's face fell into a look of despair and the lines on his head turned to a sickly blue state. "Oh God… I wasn't drooling on you the whole night was I?"

"Not by my reckoning…"

The two boys didn't have time to lie there awkwardly, when suddenly a flash of light caught Naruto's eye and with a shout of surprise, he rolled backwards over Shino, avoiding the giant sword impaling the floorboards where he was lying a second ago. The bug user was winded from the suddenly evasion tactic, and was now lying dazed back on top of his pillow.

Assuming a stance, the blonde threw his hand out and drew a kunai blade, and glared up at his attacker. He saw Ryoko perched on the handle of her sword, dressed in a bath robe and grinning down at him. Sakura, Hinata and Anko were now up and about, a little surprised at how the red-head had decided to rouse the blonde from his sleep. Sasuke had gone off to brush his teeth.

"Good morning, Naruto-chan!" Ryoko exclaimed, winking at him. "I see you're up."

"Thanks to you," Naruto replied, standing up and twirling his kunai in his hands, before having it vanish just as quickly as it had appeared out of thin air. "Do you usually do this…?"

"I did it to Zabuza all the time… kept him on his toes," Ryoko exclaimed. Kicking her sword out from under her, she spun it around her arm before catching it and landing cleanly on her feet, marching towards the boy. Before anyone could say another word, the red head grabbed Naruto's wrist and began dragging him out of the room, the boy blinking as his friends shrunk away. As she opened the door and began to pull him out of the room, his voice spoke up.

"Where are you taking me?" Naruto asked.

"Hot springs! Morning bath! You and me time! Talk!" was her words as they left the room, with the blond beginning to worry about what was to come.

"Good luck brat!" Anko called after him, but then withdrew immediately when her head started pounding like a jackhammer, and fell back into bed, groaning. "Ooohh… hang over…"

Sasuke stuck his head out of the bathroom door, wearing a shower cap with his toothbrush shoved in his mouth. "Good riddance… I don't think I'll be able to taste anything for a week…"

* * *

_**Later that morning…**_

The Genin teams, paid in full and thanked for their efforts, after waking from their slumbers, then packed up their gear and prepared to leave, their mission over. Of course, after seeing that the newly crowned High Princess of the land was safe on her throne, Team 7, Team 8 and Team 10, along with their Jonin leaders paid their respects to the leader of the land, wishing her luck, and left the castle premises. However, Katsumi held Naruto back a bit, and when Team 8 and 10 had left, with Team 7 waiting by the doors for their other team member, Naruto was allowed to speak, face to face with his dear friend.

Katsumi, rising from her throne, stepped down to meet Naruto on the red carpet, the ninja getting to his knee and bowing low to her, a smile always on the young boy's face. Little Haru, the girl he had saved, hung beside him, trying to hide away from the young, beautiful angel approaching them.

Stopping before him, Katsumi smiled at him, eyes wavering with unshed tears.

"Naruto-kun… you don't need to be so formal with me… we're friends. Come on now," she said, bidding him to rise to his feet. Naruto did so, and once he did, Little Haru latched on his arm, unwilling to let go. The boy chuckled and nodded his head to Katsumi.

"You will do great, Katsumi-chan…"

"And I know you will too…" the Princess replied.

Anko smirked as she watched the pair commune for what would be their last time until next they met. Sakura and Hinata stayed back and also watched, smiling happily as they watched the blonde make his peace with the young woman. It may have been a sight reminiscent from a fairy tale… or from Jiraiya's Icha Icha books, but it suited them well.

"Of course, you still have many trials ahead of you, and I wish you all the best," Katsumi said, reaching up and untying something from around her neck. Pulling it out, she revealed it to be a necklace with a locket at the end of it, and walking up to her friend, tied it around her neck. When she did, she gazed into his eyes, a blush forming on her cheeks and her smile growing. "Promise me… you will visit me often. It gets lonely leading a country…"

Looking down at the pendant and opening it, Naruto admired what was inside it. Smiling, he looked back up at Katsumi, clearly showing his appreciation of the gift.

"It's a promise of a life time," he said, raising his fist to this declaration and grinning. "Katsumi-chan…"

Unexpectedly, the girl leapt at him and kissed him deeply, surprising not only her royal guard and staff present, but also Sakura and Hinata. Anko just snickered before bursting out laughing as Naruto returned her kiss. Little Haru watched them curiously, wondering what they were doing, but deciding not to interrupt them.

After a minute or so, the two broke apart, and Naruto smiled at the blushing princess, who bowed to him and who he returned. With that set, he then turned and strode away, waving back as he approached his team at the end of the splendid hall. Rejoining them, they exited the hall, and headed out of the palace down the large stair way. Katsumi, watching him leave, giggled and intertwined her fingers, nodding her head.

"_Just like Naruto… he's always one to keep a promise…"_

* * *

The journey back to Konohagakure was uneventful, and much to the relief of the Genin, they didn't have any extra weight to carry with them, which meant that this walk back to the village was faster. And of course, as stated earlier on this arc, they didn't return to that port town, and simply went around it.

Along the way, Naruto piggy-backed Little Haru, the young girl enjoying herself, the fresh air and the butterflies that seemed to hover around her. Sakura and Hinata took turns in taking care of the cute little one, with the Genin of team seven talking amongst themselves eagerly. Anko headed the group, but was accompanied by Kakashi, whom she spoke with discreetly about the upcoming Icha Icha books that the great Jiraiya was going to publish next and what they believe should be included. Much to Asuma and Kurenai's displeasure, Shikamaru and Choji would stick their noses in between them and made sure they didn't try anything, wanting to cause as much grief for the pair as possible, and embarrass the crap out of them. Shino spoke with Sasuke, well… not really talked but simply shared occasional words with him, such as 'beautiful scenery' and 'yeah', with the occasional 'ngh'. Ino stuck with Ryoko, the swordswoman who seemed more inclined to hover around Naruto's back and watch over him closely. However, the pale blonde girl and the red-head did talk, every so often drifting from plants to appearance.

"Your skin texture is amazing… so tanned," Ino exclaimed. "How do you get it so smooth?"

"I bathe regularly and eat a lot of fruits and vegetables," the woman replied, running a hand through her hair and smirking down at the girl, who was looking over her with great interest. Since Ryoko's outfit was damaged in her battle with the Jonin, she changed it a little, moving from her dark blue stuff to a pair of grey forest camouflage trousers, shin guards, boots, and a black turtle neck top with a grey camo colored scarf draped over her shoulders. She still had her spiky hair up, and the eye patch she wore remained where it was. "Because a ninja must keep her body in full fighting form, I train and eat a balanced diet, which means I have no blemishes whatsoever. What do you think?"

"I think it is incredible that you're managing to keep such fine a figure," Ino said, studying the woman's tanned arm up close. "So… you don't diet or anything?"

"HA! Diet? Hell no… the key is to train hard and work your body! That's how you keep it in such fine shape. Plus, I can eat whatever I want if I continue training," Ryoko exclaimed, thumbing at the giant blade on her back. "How do you think I'm able to swing that around like a kunai blade, eh?"

"Of course, you're incredibly strong," Ino said.

"Damn right!"

Along the line of the convoy, Team 7's group was engrossed in a conversation of their own.

"So… Little Haru, are you looking forward to your new home?" Naruto asked. The Rinnegan girl nodded enthusiastically, smiling and giggling.

"Yes, Naruto-sama!" she exclaimed happily.

"Great to hear it! You're gonna love it in Konohagakure!" the blonde continued, skipping a bit and earning a laugh from her.

"We'll help look after you too, Little Haru," Sakura said. "When we get back to Naruto's place, we'll sit down and play some games…"

"And also teach you things… a lot of useful stuff for the future," Hinata added, with Sakura and Naruto agreeing unanimously. "How to cook, how to clean yourself up, and we'll teach you math, literature and writing…"

"YAY!" Haru exclaimed, throwing her arms out.

Anko, who had been looking over her shoulder at the time, smirked and shrugged, before turning to her companion walking beside her.

"Like family, don't you think?" Anko queried.

"Yeah… very much so," Kakashi exclaimed, giving the woman his famous eye-smile. "Makes me wish I had his kind of spirit…"

"Don't joke, you're happy the way you are." Anko folded her arms, nodding her head with certainty. "One Naruto is more then enough…"

The journey back was quite a joy, and when the large group finally spotted the Hokage Monument on the horizon, they wasted no more time hanging around outside their village's walls. They entered through the North Gate, checking in with the guards, before heading for the Hokage tower. The platoon became the sight of the day for many passers, who took in the battered teams, as well as the newcomers, particularly the scary, red-headed woman carrying the massive clever on her back. A quick trek down the main road, and they were at the main building, and were lead to the Hokage's office for the debrief on their successful mission.

* * *

"Good job teams… and uhh…" Sarutobi began, before noting the newcomers to the office, one of which was perched on Naruto's shoulders, and the other one surrounded by eight ANBU and held at sword point, her hands raised and a bored look on her face. "Dangerous Missing Nin… ugh… okay… moving on…" Unrolling the scroll and document from the three team's first C-Rank turned A-Rank mission, Sarutobi signed it, stamped it, and sealed it for it to be taken to the archives. His office assistant Chunin collected it up, along with the pile, and left the room, staring awkwardly at the ANBU and their uninvited guest.

Lighting his pipe, the old Third Hokage chuckled and propped his head on his hands, at the same time taking in the team's appearances. Blemish for blemish, he had to admit he had seen Genin teams who had returned from a C-Rank mission in terrible states, even worse for the Jonin teams he sent out on missions, but this just bit a whole new chunk of cake for a simple escort mission of a platoon's worth of ninja. Kakashi still had his arm in a sling, Anko was grinning through stitches on her face, Asuma looked like he had just moved several pianos all on his own, and Kurenai looked like she had been tortured. His eyes trailed over the more disgruntled Genin, all the way through to Naruto who was smiling as if he had had the time of his life.

All in all, the story they had to tell would be a very interesting one.

"So tell me… was it all because of her?" Sarutobi asked, rather amused as he looked at Ryoko, the woman looking at each of the ANBU surrounding her individually. Her sword had been confiscated and was being held by another ANBU standing in the shadows.

Curious, she ran her finger over one of the blades and looked at it afterwards, rubbing her finger against her thumb and smirked.

"You know, your swords could use some polishing," Ryoko exclaimed. She turned to another one standing to her right. "And the base of your blade is a bit rusty. Goodness. I take it you guys don't go out on missions that often?"

"Shut up…" the ANBU Ryoko was addressing growled, the voice surprising the red-head woman. The commotion that was starting had the Genin Teams and their Jonin leaders part away a bit and look behind them, with Sarutobi getting a better view of the young woman in the center of the ring of blades.

"Good Lord, you're a woman?" Ryoko laughed. She caught wind of the purple hair and the ANBU's rather feminine figure. "You know, I'd expect better from the Leaf's ANBU, especially the girls on the squads to at least keep their weapons in mint condition. What, are you starting to get a little lazy after graduating? You see, this is the problem with a lot of the other villages; you have a whole mass of shinobi that seem tough but aren't and get their asses beat, then you get a handful of other ninja that are just awesome, compared to the rest of the shinobi forces, and always do well in battle."

"What's your point?" the woman growled.

"I'm just saying… back in my village, the Seven Swordsmen were trained hard to keep their weapons well polished," Ryoko stated. She raised an eyebrow as she looked from one sword to another. "I can't help myself, I'm a swordswoman myself, I just love good quality weapons that are thoroughly cleaned and sharpened, and I hate ones that are just… is that ketchup?" Ryoko asked, pointing to the ANBU on her very left, noting a little stain smeared on his blade. The other ANBU spotted it too, and seemed to lean in closer to get a better look. That ANBU, from the markings on his mask was Hawk, backed away a bit and rubbed the back of his head, chuckling nervously.

"I lost my kitchen knife and used this to cut my sandwich in the morning…"

"If I may interrupt," the Hokage spoke up, drawing the ANBU and Ryoko's attention to the old man sitting behind the desk. The white haired man was looking very amused, at the same time a bit agitated, and upon silencing the prisoner and guard, took a puff on his pipe and removed it from his mouth. He nodded towards the red-head woman. "You're Ryoko Takahashi, rogue ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist, and one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, known as the _Siren of the Hidden Mist_. Your name gets tossed around a lot in the ninja handbook, but you seemed to drop off of the grid for a while after you left your village. What made you decide to show your face now?"

Ryoko smiled and shrugged, folding her arms. "I don't know… boredom…"

"I see… well… by the way you seemed to stride into this village today, I immediately knew that you weren't ushered here as a prisoner, so I assume you were invited along," Sarutobi said, turning and staring at Anko and her team. The other Genin teams also glared at them, moving back a bit to emphasize in terms of space on them. The purple haired Jonin shrugged.

"Don't look at me, ask him," Anko said, pointing down at her blonde student, who was still balancing Little Haru on his shoulders. Naruto turned towards the old man and grinned, while the black haired girl started playing with his hair and face from where she sat.

Sarutobi sighed. "Of course…"

"I'll have everyone in this room know that we had nothing to do with it!" Kurenai spoke, with a lot of the Genin surrounding her nodding in agreement.

"I understand…" the Third replied, before glancing over at Kakashi, who had his hand in his pocket and really wasn't saying anything. "Anything to add, Kakashi?"

"Nope… I'm practically in the same boat as they are," the silver haired man said, gesturing towards Asuma and the others. The old man sighed and rubbed the space between both his eyes, knowing that he was going to lose all of his hair over this.

"Good enough…" he waved at the Genin and Jonin in the room. "Teams 8 and 10 can go, but I need to have a word with Team 7…" The other teams bowed, and all of them, including Kurenai, left the room without another word. With Anko, Naruto, Sakura and Hinata being the only ones left in the room, beside Ryoko and the ANBU flanking her, Sarutobi could finally get down to asking questions and receiving straight answers without interruption.

"So tell me… aside from delivering Princess Katsumi safely and completing the mission, not only did you decide to adopt a young girl from a coastal port down on your way there, but you also managed to pick up one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, the second strongest from that group no less, and bring her here with the intention… to…?"

"To enlist her as a ninja of Konoha's Forces… or to have her around as a body guard," Naruto said, shrugging. "I thought it was a great idea…"

"Sure was. Now look at me; I've got the welcome party I've always dreamed of," Ryoko called out sarcastically, obviously making a point towards the surrounding ANBU. She sniffed the air, catching a whiff of something unpleasant, and looked towards the ANBU to her right again. "Someone hasn't showered in a while…"

The ANBU sweat dropped, and whistled quietly to bypass the awkward situation.

"Naruto… did you think this through at all?" Sarutobi asked, trying to hold back a smile at the show of good humor by an enemy of the village.

"I thought about it… a lot," Naruto affirmed, folding his arms. "I gave her my word that she could stick with me when she passed the interrogation office's tests; Ibiki owes me one anyway. I also believe that by introducing her to our village that I could encourage the other villagers to take tolerance of outsiders, and understanding to heart. Plus I have her word to back me up." He looked back at the girl, who was still having an animated discussion with the ANBU she had addressed about the smell, this time on personal hygiene. When she noticed the whisker-marked boy looking at her, she raised a fist in declaration.

"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen always keep their word. When a deal is made, it cannot be broken," the red-head stated.

"Lovely," Anko exclaimed, throwing her arms out. "There you have it! Can we go now? I'm hungry, and it's two for one at the dango bar today…"

"In a moment," Sarutobi continued, pointing in the woman's direction. "I trust that if anything should happen to any of my ninja in this village should I let this deal fly, you four will be held responsible for it?"

"Now wait just a minute…" Sakura yelled.

"Shush, pinky," Anko said, pulling her back into formation beside Naruto and Hinata. The woman stepped forward. "If my student trusts this woman, then I'll be prepared to accept full responsibility on their behalf."

"Forget that; _**I**_ will take full responsibility," Naruto spoke up. "She made the deal under my word; it was an agreement between two parties." Anko smirked down at him, raising an eyebrow.

"You're young kid; you still got your whole life ahead of you."

"Fine then, it'll be on your heads, you _two_," Sarutobi said, pointing at the both of them, before glancing down at Naruto. "I'll take it easy on you though…"

"What for?" Naruto asked, folding his arms. "Am I too valuable to the village, or an inconvenience to even care?"

"No; for keeping quiet about the… _you know_…" the Third whispered, gesturing carefully to make sure the others in the room didn't get it.

"Right… _**that**_ thing," Naruto said with a nod and a smile. He thumped his chest and gave the old man the thumbs up. "Okay then…"

"Good, then we have an accord," Sarutobi said, looking up towards the ANBU and Anko. "Team 7 is dismissed, and I will send the necessary papers to you four to fill out, since you obviously have a new roommate. Hang on… _two_ new roommates for Naruto…and these three have volunteered to help out!"

"**Hey**, I didn't promise to help out with anything," Anko said, throwing her arms up. "All I promised was to train these three and look after them. Trust me; I'm no good with kids…"

"No kidding," Sakura mumbled. Anko lead into her, brandishing a knife to her cheek and causing the pink-haired girl to stiffen in surprise.

"What was that, pinky?"

"N-N-NOTHING!" Sakura shouted. Hinata giggled at the sight.

"We should be m-mindful of our words, Sakura," the Hyuuga exclaimed.

"Get on out of here you three," Sarutobi said, waving his hand at them, ushering them out. "I already have enough work as it is without having to worry about this new debacle. And ANBU can take Ryoko down to Ibiki." Team 7 bowed and began heading out, with Sakura hanging around just a bit as she watched her teammates leave.

"Hold on a second… Naruto," Ryoko called, as the handful of ANBU began hurrying her out the door. Halfway through, the red-head turned towards the blond. He looked up at her in question when he reached her. "Could you take my sword back to your place, I don't trust these yokels?"

Naruto turned towards the ANBU holding her sword in the corner, then back towards the Third Hokage. The old man smiled and nodded towards the ninja holding onto the weapon.

"I'll allow it…"

The masked ninja in black strode over to the blonde and handed him the large sword, with Naruto taking it carefully. At this point, Hinata and Anko looked down at it in interest, noticing the strange gleam and chakra fluctuation it was giving off. Even Little Haru had a look at it, gazing at it through her Rinnegan, and tilted her head in curiosity when she saw a strange purple energy move through the sword's blade like a bubble. Ryoko chuckled as they looked at it, drawing their attention to her when she began to speak again.

"It gives off a certain chakra signature, so I'll be able to find you through it," the woman exclaimed. The ANBU, sensing she was done, began pushing her out the door again, but just as she was rounding the corner, she craned her head to look back at them. "Oh, and if the sword starts talking to you… just ignore it…" With that, she was gone.

"Starts… talking… to me?" Naruto queried.

"Worry about it later, Naruto… lets go!" Anko said, pushing him out the door. Hinata followed, a little it nervous at the last statement.

"_How can swords talk to people?"_ the young, purple haired girl thought, disappearing around the corner where Naruto ad Anko had gone.

With the Hokage and Sakura being the only ones left in the room, gave the young girl free rein to discuss what she had on her mind to the old man. Standing at attention, she turned towards the old man with a stoic look, with Sarutobi locking his eyes onto the only other person left in the room. A few seconds passed before either spoke, since the pink haired Genin was a bit nervous, and Sarutobi was just plain confused as to why she was still here.

"What is it?" he asked calmly.

"Hokage-sama… umm… in regards to Naruto's adoption forms… uhh… well… there is something that I wish to ask you… a request if you will…"

"Of course, child; what do you have in mind…?"

* * *

_**Later that day… in the afternoon…**_

"Ugh… I'm beat," Naruto groaned, flopping down on his couch next to Little Haru, who was looking through the folded pile of recently bought and assorted clothes. The spiky haired blonde, who was now dressed in a pair of jean shorts, white t-shirt and orange and black vest with socks, looked over at his new guest, watching as the girl looked from one T-shirt to the next and from one pair of pants to another; and so forth.

Earlier today, the young Genin and Anko had taken the little girl shopping for new clothes and supplies, not wanting her to keep those old rags from the port town. The three of them ventured from one store to the next, picking up everything they needed, while endlessly embarrassing Naruto on the side… well… Anko did most of the teasing, what with the lectures she gave him. The leader of Team 7 felt that her student needed to learn a bit more then just taking care of the child in terms of food, clothing and house keeping, but also to know about the bare essentials. She took the two youngsters to the chemists to pick up a number of nameless items the boy did not want to know about, as well as undergarments from the clothing stores. Naruto wished Hinata had accompanied him when he was shopping with his sensei, but she had to go off to deal with other matters elsewhere.

Thankfully, by the end of the shopping spree, which emptied much of his wallet for now, Naruto was relieved and out of it.

After carrying the bags and groceries back to his apartment, he used his clones to help deposit and organize all of the food in the kitchen, before letting Little Haru look through her newly purchased items.

"You like your new stuff?" Naruto asked, watching as Haru put a woolen, ushanka hat over her head, with the flaps on the sides falling over her ears. Her black hair masked most of her facial features, covering her right eye while leaving the left exposed. She smiled at the blonde, blushing cutely.

"I thought so," the whisker marked boy replied. Noting the dirt and dust still covering her, Naruto stood up, the girl watching after him. "I think you should have a bath now. It didn't matter much on the mission but now… you're in my home, cleanliness is essential." Offering her a hand, Haru took it, leaving her stuff on the couch as she was led to the back of his apartment.

Naruto opened the door to the back garden, and lead his new guest down to the lawn. Enclosed by a high bamboo fence, with a flower garden circling it on the inside and a simple took shed against it, Naruto used whatever space was available to set up a rather ingenious bath.

Much like the springs, Naruto had set up a large, wooden tub on the grass on top of a fire pit, with steps that led up to the top and into it. It was basically a huge boiling pot that the blonde used to take relaxing baths in when he didn't need to go to the hot springs. On days after hard training and he didn't want to go out, he would enjoy a nice, hot soak.

Leading the hose over to the tub and rigging it up like a shower head, Naruto quickly began filling up the large basin with water, while at the same time getting some freshly cut planks of wood, and tossing it into the pit beneath the bath. Haru watched curiously as the boy let the fire and filled the bath to a foot beneath its rim. Once finished, the blonde waited for the tub to reach a suitable, heated state, and ushered Haru over.

"Come on… you'll definitely enjoy this soak," Naruto exclaimed. Poking his finger in the hot water, he nodded his head, assured it was perfect for her. Little Haru undressed and with towel in hand, walked up the steps with her adoptive brother's help, and slowly stepped in.

A few seconds of dipping into the water and testing the temperature, she jumped in, and leaning up against the side began to relax. The little girl giggled and splashed the water around a bit, Naruto smiling as she waded around.

"Good, eh?" the boy asked. Haru turned and nodded.

"Yes! It's nice and warm!"

"Great," Naruto exclaimed. Creating a shadow clone, he sent it inside to collect some clothes for her and with nothing else to do, sat back and kept watch over Haru as she played around and cleaned herself up.

By the time she was done, it was drawing into the late afternoon. Drying off and getting dressed into a large orange T-shirt and a pair of baggy, dark blue jean shorts, Naruto took her upstairs to get dinner started, leaving the clones to pack away the bath and drain the water. When they did, he immediately began hurrying around the kitchen making fried rice for tonight, great bowls of it for a great feast, with a side of char siu and Asian style roast pork. Little Haru helped around a bit with great joy of being in the boy's presence, getting him the necessary utensils he asked for and setting up the table outside of the kitchen area. Since his apartment was so small, the dining room and kitchen was practically the same room.

Once done, the two of them got down to eat, with Naruto serving. However, the wafting smell of fried rice and char siu did not go unnoticed, with a clatter of pots sounding an intrusion from the kitchen window. Naruto looked over in surprise, on instinct reaching for a kunai from his pocket. However, when he saw a familiar face, he blinked.

"Hey brat! That stuff smells good!" Anko exclaimed, sniffing the air. Dressed in a pair of black cargo pants, a pink tube top that stopped at mid-drift, with red letters written on her well endowed chest area saying 'Up Yours', and wearing red flip-flops with her spiky hair let down, the usual sadistic Jonin was definitely set for casual. The woman locked her lips. "Mmm… I can taste it now!"

Hopping off of the window sill, she grabbed a small bowl and chopsticks off of the kitchen desk, marched over to the table, and pulled up a chair next to Haru, all the while the Rinnegan girl and Naruto watched her, either in bewilderment or interest. It was only a matter of lining up the responses.

"I love char siu! Well… not as much as dango but… you know what I mean," the woman exclaimed, getting herself a bowl of rice and piling pork onto it. She began gorging on it, turning to see Naruto still staring at her and Haru resuming her meal. The Jonin blinked at her student.

"What?" she asked with a full mouth.

"Uhh… NOTHING! Nothing… umm… wow…" Naruto replied, waving his hands in front of him. He averted his gaze briefly, rubbing the back of his head, before glancing back at the woman. Out of the corner of his observing gaze, he saw the Jonin grin at him.

"You've never seen me wearing clothes like this before, have you?" Anko asked. "Since I'm always wearing my fishnet and trench coat most of the time, you assume that I wear stuff like that 24/7?"

"Huh? No! No. No…" Naruto hesitated for a moment. "Okay… now that you've pointed it out… I have to admit… I've never seen you in pink before, sensei."

"Oh. Well… _**there**_ you go!" Anko exclaimed, holding her arms out. Without another word, she dived back into her meal.

Smiling and shaking his head, Naruto just sat down in his seat and got himself some rice. However, just as he was about to eat, he heard another clatter by the window, and turned around to see Jiraiya sloothing in.

"Hey, kid! Man… that smells good!"

"Oh God… not you too…" Naruto groaned, watching as the white-haired old man leapt down onto the kitchen sink and then onto the floor. "What ever happened to having manners and using the door?"

"I think they both killed each other… you know… one of those murder-suicide deals," Jiraiya exclaimed pointedly, rubbing his hands together as he approached the table. "Fried rice? Boy did I come on a good day. You know, you make the best fried rice in the entire village."

"Says you," Naruto replied with a small smile. "I didn't know you were still in the village, Pervy Sage…"

"Well, when I heard that your C-Rank mission turned into an A-Rank mission, and that you managed to bag, not only a girl with Rinnegan eyes but also one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, I just had to come down and congratulate you," Jiraiya exclaimed, walking over to him and taking a seat beside the blonde. The table was designed for six people, and already four seats were occupied in a span of five minutes in an apartment where only one person lived. "Congratulations…"

"Thanks a lot, Pervy Sage…"

"Stop calling me that," Jiraiya quickly said, before glancing towards the girl with the black hair eating her dinner. She was looking at the man with caution, still not being able to trust strangers after her life experiences so far. "So… if she's not the second member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist, then I'm guessing she's the girl with the Rinnegan eyes." The old man tilted his head as he looked at the girl's exposed eye, noting the tell-tale rings against the purple sclera, circling the small pupil. His thoughts strayed from knowledge to experiences with the Rinnegan, as old memories of his past began to surface. The old man was amazed and curious at the sight of a second pair of the Sage of the Six Paths' eyes, with a sense of foreboding also overcoming him. _"But this doesn't make any sense… only one pair of Rinnegan are said to have ever existed, and these were in the possession of the Sage. When I met Nagato… I thought that he was the only incarnation of the Legendary Sage to ever possess the eyes, and that he was the child of prophecy. Then suddenly… she shows up…"_

Jiraiya, canceling out his thoughts for the time being, he smiled at the girl and nodded at her. "What's your name?"

"H-Haru…"

The old man nodded in response. "Well, it's a real pleasure young lady…"

Jiraiya, producing a bowl of fried rice for himself also began eating, obviously satisfied with the meal from the moans he gave off like Anko did. Them most delicate way of summing up this dining experience was no short of a orgy of delight. Naruto shook his head as he too began eating, joining Anko and Jiraiya in conversation, basically talking about the mission and about what had happened over the course of the four days. He and Anko left out the most incriminating parts that Jiraiya would find most interesting for his next book, such as the hot spring incident.

Just as Naruto was getting in deep in the talking between his two senseis, another voice spoke up that was obviously foreign from the group, but the blonde mistook it for someone at the table.

"_You're pretty cute for a kid, you know…"_

"Okay, for the last time Anko, can you stop saying creepy things like that?" Naruto said, putting his chopsticks and bowl down. "Hitting on me is not a good motivational tool, especially at the dining table!"

Anko looked at him, mouth full. "But I didn't say anything…"

"Neither did I," Jiraiya also said, looking around, surprised.

"_My master was right… you do have a nice butt…"_

Naruto blinked. "Wait… you can see us?" He, Anko, Jiraiya and Little Haru turned towards the source of the sound, but found themselves staring towards the doorway of the kitchen leading into the small lounge room, where all they could see was the back of the two-person couch and Ryoko's sword propped up against it.

Anko blinked, swallowing her food. "Must be our imaginations…"

"Or this place is haunted…" Naruto also added.

"_The hell it is! It's me you dumb-wads!" _the voice shouted again, this time accompanied by the audible sounds of metal rattling. The sword propped up against the couch also moved with the voice. _"Come over here so I can get a better look at you, blonde!"_

"The… sword… is… talking…" Jiraiya murmured. He looked over at Anko and Naruto, seeing both of them turn back around with wide eyes and freaked out expressions in play, whereas Haru continued looking at the sword in interest.

Anko glanced at Naruto, back stiffened. "Should I quit drinking, brat?"

"No… you're fine," the blonde haired ninja replied.

"There's a lot of purple moving around inside the sword…" Haru exclaimed. Even though her words fell upon the three ninjas' ears, it only served to scare them even more so.

"Ryoko told me that the sword would start talking to us," Naruto whispered, now sweating a bit. "What should we do?"

"Just ignore it, I'm sure it will stay quiet if we don't listen to it," Anko said. "After all… she did tell you to ignore it in the first place if it did start talking."

"_Hey! I said come over here! I'm bored, and my master is away… and you're hot!" _the sword shouted, this time addressing Anko. _"You also have a nice butt! Why don't you waggle it on over here, purple girl?"_

"Okay… it's bi… nice…" Anko said, now feeling even more uncomfortable. "Good thing Ryoko will be out of Ibiki's Interrogation Department soon…"

"It's a fascinating weapon though," Jiraiya said, putting his thumb and index finger to his chin as he analyzed the weapon over Anko's shoulder. "Aside from an elegant design and that it is giving off an eerie chakra signature, it's got its own wisdom to boot: an intelligent weapon that can speak, and perhaps offer battle tactics to its owner. Impressive! I wonder if it can be used by multiple wielders…"

"Jiraiya, shut up!" Anko hissed. "Don't make eye-contact with it!"

"But it doesn't have any eyes!" Jiraiya said back, frowning.

"It's wrapped in gauze and it's big, plus it's a sword! It shouldn't be talking in the first place!" Naruto added, growling.

"_The old goat over there is right. But unfortunately, I'm a one in a kind weapon! What day is it anyway? Last I heard it was some time in late June. I could go for some snow right about now…"_

"Just ignore the sword…" Naruto mumbled, eating on, while still sitting in a surprisingly straightened manner.

"_Hey! Hot stuff! I'm talking! Come on… pick me up and let's go cut something! Come on…"_

"Now I know why Ryoko was acting as insane as she was," Anko said, shaking her head, while continuing to eat as well. "To live with a talking sword all your life must give you a tumor after the first year."

"Agreed," Jiraiya said.

_**KNOCK! KNOCK! **_A rapping at the window to the kitchen caught everyone's attention, and they turned to see Sakura sitting on the sill, wearing a huge camping backpack and carrying a big suitcase with her.

"Hey! Anyone home…" A whiff of the smell in the air distracted her, and the girl hummed in appreciation of the scent, squeezing through and hopping onto the floor. "Hey… that smells good!"

"For goodness sakes, can people please use my door?" Naruto exclaimed, throwing his head back in distress.

"Where's the fun in that, Naruto-kun!" Sakura exclaimed, skipping around the table, setting her bags up against the wall and pulling up a chair. Summoning a bowl out of thin air, she began loading rice into it, accompanied by the char siu. "Boy, I'll have some of this! It's been a while since I've had a good meal!"

"Hey, Sakura-chan… what's with all the bags?" Naruto asked, noting the suitcase and backpack, before looking up at his pink haired teammate, who had begun gorging on the food. The way she horsed it down meant that the boy's cooking skills were top notch. "Are you moving out or something?"

"Correction: moving in; with you!" Sakura replied cheerfully, pointing her chopsticks in the blonde's direction. Naruto it his tongue at this response, and stared at the pink haired girl with wide eyes. Anko set her bowl aside and watched on with a grin, whereas Jiraiya looked at her in interest. "Since you've got Little Haru to look after now, and since I figured you could use some company, after a lot of thinking, I made a decision! I was able to request the papers from the Hokage to move me out of my apartment and move in with you!"

"Wha… ha… it's… gah… huh?" Naruto babbled trying to find the right words to reply to his teammate. He shook his head and looked at her with a confused look.

Jiraiya meanwhile, was now grinning from ear to ear. "Kami kid, I was right! I knew you'd start reeling them in eventually…"

"Whatever happens from here on out, gaki; the girls are always right, and you are expected to reply everything with a 'yes'!" Anko pressured, punching the boy in the shoulder. Naruto winced and rubbed the bruise, as he watched his friend consume her first bowl of rice.

"So… you really want to move into my apartment?" Naruto queried, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, I have to admit I'm a bit surprised, but I have to ask… well… I have my answer already… but… oh…" Naruto rubbed the back of his head, looking up towards the ceiling. "Man… this is just weird…"

"It's fine, Naruto. I won't slow you down, and I'll try to stay out of your hair when you're busy. So…" Sakura said, lowering her bowl and looking up at the blonde with a very stern-mixed-happy face. "As earlier stated, Haru will be sleeping in your bed… so in that case; I'll be sharing it with her… while you get the couch!"

"You know, I have a spare mattress…"

"Okay then; I get to sleep on the spare mattress and you get the couch!" Sakura simply stated, returning to her food. Naruto groaned and propped his head on his hand and arm.

"I shouldn't have said that…" he muttered.

"Deal with it brat, never get into a fight over a bed with a girl," Jiraiya stated, almost like a proclamation, holding up a bottle of sake and a couple of small shot glasses. "That's the first step to an awful life together."

"When were you the expert on all this?" Anko asked, pitching herself some sake in the other glass Jiraiya had brought with him. "I don't see you and Tsunade romping it all out in a motel room somewhere on the edge of the Land of Fire."

"Unfortunately, she and I have had some rather interesting moments together on missions when we were younger that I would… not soon be forgetting," Jiraiya said the last part out slowly, taking a sip from his drink. "That frying pan still haunts my nightmares…not to mention that broomstick handle she used on me and where it went when she caught me peeping on her."

"Okay, too much information!" Sakura said, putting her hands over her ears. Haru copied, giggling in amusement. "Go take your Icha Icha talk somewhere else!"

The half an hour into dinner proved to be rather interesting, with Naruto eventually coming to fully accept Sakura into his apartment, but was not too pleased at the prospects of sleeping on the couch. But since he didn't usually sleep that much now a days, he was pretty content with the idea for now. Anyhow, as the day drew into night, and the group was still engrossed in deep conversation, another intruder into the kitchen had everyone turn their heads.

"H-Hello… everyone!" the timid voice of Hinata came from the kitchen window. Naruto and everyone watched as the girl clambered down from her perch, suitcase in hand and backpack worn over her usual jumper and attire. Anko snickered.

"Oh… this night has just gotten more interesting…"

"Seriously! Can people start using my door! Geez!" Naruto threw his arms out.

Hinata smiled as she stood in the kitchen area, swinging her suitcase a bit from side to side in that shy girl manner, as she looked at Naruto.

"Umm… N-Naruto-kun… if it isn't too much trouble for you… well… if it won't upset you or anything, I…I have decided to…well… I would like to move in with you!" she said outright, blushing fiercely. "I mean… I'll understand if you don't want me to."

"Oh… geez, Hinata-chan… he-heh…" Naruto chuckled rubbing the back of his head. "Man this is getting awkward."

"Oh, is it ever," Anko exclaimed, sitting back and watching the show. "Come on kid, what's your answer?"

"Well… umm… sure… why not. Unless Sakura-chan is willing to share a bed with you," Naruto replied.

"Swing and a miss…" Anko exclaimed, looking over at Jiraiya. "Although that depends on the batter's point of view…"

"S-Share a bed with Sakura?" Hinata asked, looking over at her pink-haired teammate. The young kunoichi grinned and waved at her, now still working on her second bowl of the evening.

"Hey, Hinata! Yeah, I'm sharing the apartment with Naruto as well," Sakura affirmed, before pointing towards the purple haired girl and her baggage. "I assume you got the Hokage to help fill out some forms to?" The Hyuuga girl nodded in response, earning a shrug and a smile from the other girl. "That's cool. Hey… lookin' forward to spending some more time with you."

"M-me to…" Hinata said with a small smile, although inwardly she was a bit disappointed. _"I wanted to spend some more time alone with my Naruto-kun…"_

"Excellent, we have a home run!" Anko declared, raising her glass. "Good one, Naruto! You've got an awesome pair!"

"Please… think before you speak, sensei," Naruto said, slapping his forehead and shaking his head. He looked up, watching as Hinata took the last chair and had a seat. Kindly, she pointed towards the food and looked at the blonde with a smile, using hand signals and body language to communicate. The whisker-marked boy nodded in response and soon enough, everyone at the table was sharing a delicious home cooked meal.

There was a lot of rice made, so there was plenty to go around. And of course, since everyone was so engrossed in the meal and the aura of joy floating in the air around them that they had completely forgot about the sword in the lounge room. The sword of course had taken to quietly tuning in on their conversations, finding interest in the topics thrown around.

Suddenly, rattling at the window sounded the appearance of yet another visitor, and everyone, including a flustered Naruto, looked up to see another familiar face stick his head in. Kakashi Hatake smiled as he started climbing through.

"Hey… that smells good! Can I join you?"

Unexpectedly, an empty bowl of fried rice was hurled through the air and shattered upon hitting the Jonin in the side of the head. Dazed, the silver haired Sharingan user fell out the window, and after three stories, hit the soft grass below.

"USE THE DOOR!" Naruto shouted, on his feet and arm extended in an executed throwing motion.

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	15. Wake Up Call

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Wake Up Call_

_**That night…**_

Far outside of Konohagakure, deep inside one of the many forests in the Land of Fire, there was a scuffle. Foreign to the noises of crickets and owls, there were the sounds of clashing metal, and flashes of light shooting through the trees as two unknown combatants fought it out in the tree tops. Beneath the light of the moon and the darkness of the night sky, the figures were shadowed, their identities and village affiliations unknown. However, in their eyes, they could see each other as clearly as they could in the day time.

Clashing blades in mid-air, one of the figures was thrown downwards in the grapple, flipping through the air and eventually skidding across a large tree branch on his feet, crouching at the corner where the branch met the trunk. The battling ninja, weary and bruised, gritted his teeth and looked skyward, where he saw the shadowy impression of his opponent flying towards him, the black cloak he wore fanned out, giving him the menacing appearance of a huge, winged creature.

Shouting in surprise, the ninja perched on the branch stood up and swung a kunai out from behind him. A loud clang was heard all round as his blade clashed with the attacker's, and he was pushed up against the side of the tree as the shorter fighter pinned him against the trunk in yet another grapple.

The ninja dressed in white, wearing a strange headwear that resembled some sort of animal, with odd purple markings under his eyes, growled as he pushed the shorter foe back a bit, while at the same time glaring hard into his opponent's eyes. Unfortunately, he could not see them, since he wore a hood that overshadowed a plain mask with slits for eyeholes, and half of it white and the other half red. Not to mention most of his opponent's body was covered in a black cloak, with the only thing protruding from under it was his right arm, revealing a weapon he had never seen before. A silver, curved blade was sticking out from under his sleeve, with two more blades layered on top of it, like the blade itself extended. It resembled that of a falcon's talon, but much bigger and sharper.

Growling, the rogue ninja known as Kajika from the Village Hidden in the Mist roared and pushed the freelancer ninja back, his strength still being a bit above his opponent's.

"What the hell do you want from me, assassin?" the man roared, unable to find any head band or symbol to identify who this person was. The freelancer dressed in black though, did not speak, nor did he emit any growl or murmur. "Are you from the Hidden Mist? Or are you from Konoha? Speak!"

Without a response, the figure dressed in black then suddenly vanished, Kajika stumbling forward when his foe suddenly vanished. Growling, he got back into a stance and looked around him wildly, now starting to get pissed at this ninja's way of fighting.

"_He keeps appearing and disappearing! Is he that fast… or are they clones, or does he teleport?" _Kajika thought. _"I'm physically stronger then this guy… but I can't land a hit if he keeps disappearing and using substitutes!"_

A zip through the air caught his attention, and he spun around, just in time to receive a kick to the side of his face and he was thrown off of the tree branch. He spun and tumbled through the air, back landing against the side of another tree and him bouncing off it. However, in slow motion, just as he was a foot off of the side of the trunk he flew into, three more of the cloaked ninja he was fighting suddenly flew through the air and kicked him simultaneously in the chest, and sent him straight through the tree. With a yell, muffled by the sounds of crashing wood of cascading trees, Kajika was sent straight into the ground, where he rolled and bounced, before coming to a stop at the side of a creek.

Coughing up blood, the rogue ninja sat up, using his hands to support him and crane his head to look up. Above him, he saw what he counted were about a hundred clones of his opponent, all perched on branches or hanging off of them. He looked around at the flock, a little psyched that he was facing a person who was not only a professional at this, but was also freaking him out because he wasn't talking at all.

"KAMI DAMMIT! You are so annoying!" Kajika shouted, slapping his hands together and performing a large number of quick hand seals. _"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"_

A roar of force and rumbling erupted and in the blink of an eye, the creek behind him erupted into a high column of water, which quickly shaped and formed into a massive dragon. The water thrashed through the air, mimicking the actual beast's movements, before propelling itself towards the treetops and towards the clones. With a roar from both the dragon and the raging waters itself, the technique crashed headlong into the trees, bashing them about while consuming and knocking about all the clones, which vanished into puffs of smoke.

Seeing his technique successful, Kajika laughed, slowly getting to his feet.

"Not so fast now are yah… huh?" His eyes caught onto something through the cascading water of his dissipating technique, and dashing through the downpour of water, his opponent appeared, cloak being thrown off of his shoulders. In the blink of an eye, the masked assassin was upon him, and Kajika frowned, responding with a kunai swipe. His opponent ducked under and slid right between his legs. In a quick move, the attacker pushed off of the ground and back-flipped over the man, swinging his right hand around for a finishing blow, but was caught off guard when the man spun around and side-kicked him in the chest.

The strong blow sent the ninja flying and spinning through the air, before crashing into the side of a tree with a loud yelp of pain. Kajika chuckled as he watched the assassin fall to the ground, seriously wounded, and dusted himself off.

"Nice moves. You're lucky you're so small. I would have had you right then and there," the missing Nin exclaimed, before beginning to walk towards the boy, crossing the drained stream. Behind Kajika, the damage left behind in the wake of his Water Dragon Technique clearly showed; the canopy of the forest torn wide open and tree trunks littering the forest floor. Approaching the fallen assassin, Kajika continued to gloat, now about five meters away. "For a kid, you are quite quick. I know this because I have never met an adult ninja your size and able to take me on. You are strong, I'll give you that."

Stopping right above his would be assailant, who was now struggling to get to his feet, Kajika grinned. He cracked his right fingers as he extended them, and held them up towards his downed opponent.

"Play time is over now… you're dead!"

Before he could deal a finishing blow though, a small shadow out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, but he was too slow to respond when a swift mass of weight shot through the air and struck him in the side of the head. Staggered, Kajika growled and looked up to see a falcon fly up into the treetops and land on a branch high above. The bird turned and shirked at him loudly. A large gash was drawn on the left side of his face, blood dripping over his left eye.

"Pesky pigeon!" Kajika growled, drawing a couple of shuriken and preparing to throw them. However, his eyes widened when he heard more movement and turned to see his opponent, surprisingly back on his feet. Reacting quickly, he tossed the shuriken at him instead, only for his masked assassin to leap right over him, flipping in the process. While abseiling over Kajika's head as he was leaning in, in a throwing motion, the boy brought his right hand up and, holding out his trigger and middle finger, struck out, hitting the spine where it connects to the head through Kajika's hood.

Kajika seemed to stiffen at the quick-jab blow, and coughing up saliva in response to the sudden paralysis shock to his body, keeled over forward, hitting the tree in front of him, before slumping to the ground. His assassin landed behind his fallen body, turning towards him and walked over. Tilting his head, the masked attacker put his foot under the sprawled out body and rolled him over onto his front, glaring into the stunned face of his opponent, his body jerking and trembling.

"W-What… what did you…do to me?"

The small figure, wearing the black jacket with the fur collar with the hood over his masked face, shrugged a bit before reaching up and removing his mask. Tossing back the hood revealing spiky blond hair, Naruto decided to show his face before finishing off his opponent. He glared down at the stunned Kajika.

"Seisui Hikou; the _One Finger Kill_ technique," he said, his cold blue eyes flashing in the night, showing his serious streak. That familiar fallen look his friends had glimpsed every now and again had come back into play for this secret mission. "The ki to the Keiraku is rerouted to the Cerebral Cortex and viola… dead in ten days."

"Y-You brat!" Kajika growled. "Catching me… off guard… like that!"

"You should count yourself lucky I'm going to give you a merciful death," Naruto replied harshly. "Your lackeys are dead and I collected their weapons as souvenirs. Now, all who I have left to deal with is you. But before I do, I want information."

"A-About what?"

"I'm looking for Akatsuki members, the people who are looking for jinchuriki hosts and sealing them away for some unknown purpose," Naruto stated. "I know this because two men came looking for me specifically for that purpose, one by the name of Itachi Uchiha and the other Kisame Hoshigaki. Kajika; you are a former ninja of the Village Hidden in the Mist, so you should know the man named Kisame Hoshigaki…"

Kajika glared up at the blond as best as he could, sweat pouring down his face as he tried to remain conscious, the welling pain starting from the point of the boy's attack spreading and growing.

"Y-You… want to know… where _**that**_ piece of t-trash is hiding… d-do you?" the man choked up. Naruto nodded, bringing his right arm up. With a quick flick of his wrist, his straight hidden blade appeared, flashing in the moonlight able to break in through the huge hole in the forest canopy. At this point, the water to the stream began flowing once again, the trickling of water blending in with the returning sound of crickets and the light wind.

"Make it quick…" Naruto hissed.

"I-Info… I'd gladly…GAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!" _**CRACK! CRACK! SNAP!**_ Kajika's body suddenly convulsed, and began thrashing about, his bones and neck twisting, with his head and limbs following his movements. The sounds of his body twisting and breaking drowned out everything else, with Naruto stepping back in shock at the sudden reaction.

"_What the… what's happening?"_

Kajika continued to cry out in agony, and writhed around until his bone structure had returned from its twisted state back to normal. For a moment, he seemed to lie there, flat on his back, before suddenly rising to his feet in one fluent, bone creaking movement without any assistance from his arms or body. He simply curled his feet, and pushed up like that, rising to his feet like a zombie. He staggered forward, head lowered, with Naruto stepping back, holding his blade back in preparation for an attack from his newly arisen opponent.

However, the man stopped staggering, and after a minute of standing where he was, he lifted his head, half his face overshadowed and blood leaking out of his mouth, nose and eyes. When he realigned his sights with his opponent, Kajika's eyes suddenly flew open, revealing a blazing pair of red eyes beneath. Naruto leapt back in shock.

Those weren't ordinary eyes…

They were Sharingan, no question…

But, instead of their usual black tomoe and pupil, with red irises highlighting them, they were the reverse, with the three tomoe being red and the iris black as night.

Kajika's breathing became incredibly loud and heavy, and came out in drags, as if his wind pipe was being restricted. Nevertheless, the man grinned and began speaking, body twitching.

"_**We… have a common interest… assassin…"**_

"So it seems, accept I don't decide to suddenly possess another person's body while they were still kicking," Naruto replied calmly, raising an eyebrow at the walking corpse. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"_**The same thing… you do…"**_ the voice spoke again, echoing with Kajika's voice in the background. However, the voice in foreground was completely different.

"_That's a girl's voice? Who the heck is this?"_

"_**I am searching… for Akatsuki…"**_

"Well tough, because I can't get any more information out of him, thanks to you," Naruto replied, his glare becoming even stronger.

"_**Don't bother… looking for Akatsuki. They will come… find you…"**_

"That's what I want to try to avoid; _those_ guys coming into my village and knocking on my door," Naruto replied, stepping around a bit, still assumed in a fighting stance. "You obviously got to this guy before me, so you must know something about the Akatsuki…"

"_**Locations of members… unknown… they keep moving… off the grid…"**_

"That's just great," Naruto said, flicking his wrist and retracting his hidden weapon. He straightened up, still frowning and feeling even more disappointed. "I thought I could coax something else out of this scum, but he's apparently already been done over."

In a blink of an eye, the corpse suddenly staggered again and lunged at Naruto, in a blur of movement appearing behind the blond. The young ninja glanced behind him, watching with caution and nerves of steel as the former Kajika glared at him from over his own shoulder.

"_**You remind me… of them… the first two to ever show me… any compassion…"**_

Naruto smiled, turning his head towards the walking dead-man. "I'm flattered. Perhaps we can meet each other face to face sometime, so I can see who you are."

"_**Perhaps."**_

With that said, the corpse then slumped over. A spark shooting off of the man's back caught Naruto's attention, and reacting quickly, he leapt away. However, he just barely managed to evade the explosion that occurred a second later, and he was knocked away by the blast wave, and sent flying into a far off tree. Slamming against the trunk hard, the boy slid down its side, and rested on the ground. Dazed and knocked a little senseless, the blond looked up to see the flaming remains of his former opponent. Furrowing his brow, he watched the charred remains of the corpse fall to the floor, with a couple of his limbs scattered here and there. When the remains hit the ground, they fell to pieces, the ashes scattering on the winds.

Groaning, the boy staggered back to his feet, rubbing his arm. He winced, realizing he had dislocated his arm, but quickly shook it off and, wedging it between his legs, gave it a pull and twist, a loud crack resounding from the movement. With his arm back in place, the boy sighed in relief and stood back up, pulling his hood back over his head and slipping his mask back on.

"_Just another day in paradise," _he thought.

* * *

_**The next morning…**_

Sakura woke to the sound of a rather inappropriate yell coming from the hallway, and with a groan of annoyance, sat up from her incredibly comfortable mattress. Having set it up next to the bed Haru was sleeping in, the pink haired kunoichi was actually pleasantly surprised at how well she slept on the makeshift bed. With a smile on her face, she rubbed her eyes and looked around, her bed hair clearly framing a tired face.

"Hmm… what… was that…?"

"Damn it all!" the voice clearly belonging to Naruto came echoing from the bathroom, bouncing around his small apartment. "Next time… wear padding… maybe even ANBU armor…"

"_Must have been out training again,"_ Sakura thought with a shrug. Getting to her feet, she stepped over a still dozing Hinata and waddled over to the bathroom, her attire for the night being a pink oversized t-shirt and panties. When she arrived at the bathroom, she found that the door was open and that there was steam coming out of it.

The girl's immediate thoughts were that Naruto was probably using the shower, and had forgotten to lock the door since he was so used to living alone. However, instead of announcing his little blunder, the girl couldn't help herself, and went over to the door to take a peek. Whether it was her drowsiness or her crush on the boy she didn't know, but all she wanted to do was take a look to see what all the commotion was.

When the girl looked through the door, she found to her utmost surprise and joy that the blonde was sitting beneath a still running shower head, naked on a stool, and was busy lathering his back and hair with a sponge. His athletic body defined from years of training really showed, and even though Sakura had seen this before in the springs, it was he first time she had really seen him from the back.

The blond was clearly uncomfortable about a particular fact of his physic, but what it turned out to be was not inadequacy or attire, but something that further caught Sakura's eye.

A massive purple bruise was shown on his left shoulder and side, accompanied by a multitude of scars that had clearly been healing over a long period of time. The pink haired girl, put her hand to her mouth to muffle her gasp, as she had never seen a body in such a state before.

"_Oh my Kami, what has he been up to all this time? Wait… scratch that… what the hell has he been through?"_

Naruto's head perked up when he detected a familiar presence, and glanced over his shoulder.

"Not a pretty sight, is it Sakura-chan…"

Realizing she was caught, the girl stumbled into the bathroom, all a blabber of words.

"Oh umm… uhh… Naruto-kun! No! No. Not at all… it's just… well…"

"Whatever you want to ask about the scars, wing it… I don't mind," the boy replied, turning back to his business of washing up. "But the bruises… well… that's a story for another time…"

"O-Okay…" Sakura replied, walking over to the by and crouching behind him. Concerned for the boy's wellbeing, she ran a hand over his largest bruise close to his shoulder, to which Naruto visibly winced to. "But… I still have to heal this. It should be fine though, no problem…" Bringing her hands up, they a lit with a familiar green aura, and she began healing him. Running them over his wounds, the girl began identifying the areas of inflammation and injury, the pink haired girl nodding her head every so often, and murmuring incomprehensible words. "Geez. What did you do this time?"

"I fell…" Naruto replied.

"Oh really? How many times?" Sakura asked with a giggle.

"A fair few…" Naruto replied, before pointing out a faint scar across his shoulder. "That one came from a wind-kunai blade when I was attacked by a rogue ninja from Sunagakure. I was barely able to beat him…"

"I can see you've gotten into a fair few fights in your life…"

"You don't know the half of it," Naruto said, sighing as he felt Sakura's hands work their magic. She truly had remarkable healing hands, as a medic ninja in training now; she was learning a lot of interesting techniques in her spare time. Not to mention she was increasing her strength in unique ways, the prospects being terrifying in comprehension. "That gash on my right side; that was from Nibi…"

"Nibi?"

"Oh… sorry… Yugito Nii; jinchuriki of the Two-Tailed Monster Cat from Kumogakure…"

"What happened between you two?"

"She and I had a rather… _unpleasant_ encounter," Naruto said, visibly shivering at the memory that came to mind. "I met her in a ramen bar outside of this village, somewhere in Kumogakure… I can't remember how many years ago it was though. As far as the story goes, she poured my steaming hot bowl of miso ramen on me as a joke, and in retaliation I called her… crap… what did I say? Anyway, I woke up several hours later in a daze, with bandages wrapped around my side and Pervy Sage carrying me…"

Sakura snickered, watching as the bruise on his back slowly vanished. "I assume you weren't as vagrant back then as you are today."

"I learn from my mistakes," Naruto said, nodding his head in affirmation of this statement. "From that day forth, I vowed never to make a girl angry ever again…"

"Which explains why you are so nice to everyone else, and you try to make everybody around you happy," the pink haired kunoichi pointed out. "You tried to cheer me up, and you kept smiling even though I was angry at you, right?"

"Heh… I guess so…" Naruto replied with a smile, turning to look at his pink haired teammate. "How're the bruises?"

"You're healing remarkably fast for someone with such a big wound," Sakura said, watching as the purple faded and was gone. She smiled and removed her hands, admiring her handiwork. "I'm not sure about the other scars though and what I can do for them."

"Leave em'," Naruto replied, bringing his sponge back up to lather his arms. "Every scar to me is a medal and a reminder. I know it seems petty, but I think it makes me almost devil-may-care… so to speak."

Sakura chuckled and shimmied over, unexpectedly wrapping her arms around the wet, bare-ass teen and nuzzled his cheek. Naruto blushed at the sudden move, but smiled back in affection. He may have been teammates with her for a short time, but the young kunoichi was really warming up to him.

"I think you're fine the way you are, naked guy!" Sakura stated teasingly.

"You're planning on staying with me forever, aren't you?" Naruto asked, seeing the grin appear on the girl's lips, and she leaned into his head, placing her temple against his.

"Perhaps… but it all depends on your proposal."

"Aww… what a sweet… touchy moment…"

Naruto and Sakura gasped and looked up and around them wildly, that last voice obviously not coming from either of them. After looking around the foggy bathroom for a minute or so, from roof to floor, the two Genin, at the same time, then turned towards the area where the bathtub was, its view obscured by curtains.

Not hesitating in the least, both of them reached out and ripped the curtains to the side. Much to Sakura's surprise and Naruto's embarrassment, the pair found Ryoko lying in the tub with a sly smirk on her face, but ultimately gazing at them with tired eyes. The way she looked and how ruffled up she was in her laid-back position, the two youngsters could only come to one conclusion.

"Hey, Naruto-chan!" Ryoko exclaimed in her usual greeting to the boy. The spiky haired blonde raised an eyebrow.

"What the heck are you doing in my tub?"

"Oh… porcelain keeps my clothes from wrinkling," Ryoko replied, pointing out her obvious sleeping garments. Amusingly enough, she went to sleep in a pink nightgown with a white frilly collar, red hearts patterned all over it, and her hair let down. Compared to her usual, badass appearance, she looked pretty strange in her nightwear.

"Wait… you were sleeping in my bathtub the whole night?"

Ryoko nodded. "You bet your fine ass I did…"

"But… why?" Sakura asked, now very amused and very concerned. Ryoko snickered, and then put up a very cute, very disturbing face that was her equivalent of 'adorable'.

"_**Well… the first bed was too hard, and the second bed was too soft…"**_ Ryoko spoke in a very whiny voice.

"Please stop!" Naruto groaned, lowering his head in distress.

Ryoko laughed, at the same time checking out the naked person sitting in front of her, with the pink haired girl still attached to him. The red-headed swordswoman smirked and shook her head.

"You know, you two are really something else," she exclaimed, rubbing the back of her head.

"You should see us when we're fully dressed…" Naruto replied.

"Or naked…" Sakura exclaimed, playfully nibbling Naruto's ear, causing him to squeak in surprise. Ryoko sighed and laid back a bit, smiling at the ceiling.

"I wish I had a life like you two have now," Ryoko stated quietly, reminiscing about her past back in Kirigakure. Out of most of her life, she could only find sadness, depression, anger and loneliness, with only a few moments in her life where she felt truly happy; not from any intended action, but through unintended moments of peace. There was the time when she inherited her sword, when she was given the honor of being one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and then there was her birthday when she was able to find a nice quiet spot atop of one of Kirigakure's many mountains, and just gaze across the horizon, watching the sunrise in the distance.

Naruto and Sakura looked at her as she stared blankly at the ceiling, wondering what she was thinking. Of course, the blond was no stranger to a bad history, a history which may be comparable to the red-head's own past. He understood very much the look written on Ryoko's face, but chose not to act on his own thoughts. Instead, the three of them remained quiet, the shower still running next to them.

About a minute later, Ryoko smirked and peaked over at the blonde, her gaze running him up and down for a few seconds before a wide grin spread across her lips.

"I may be the youngest of the _Seven Ninja Swordsmen_ brat… but I know a big package when I see one," Ryoko exclaimed, licking her lips.

Naruto, blushing to the roots of his hair, folded his legs and tried to cover up his shame… as best as he could. Sakura giggled and tried to take a look, but failed when the blonde managed to pick up a towel and cover himself. Getting to his feet, he turned off the shower taps and glared over at Ryoko, who was still smiling smugly at him, albeit a red face.

"Why are you really sleeping in my tub, anyway? My couch has vacant space available…"

The red-headed swordswoman snorted and pointed out the bathroom and down the hall.

"Go see for yourself…"

Raising eyebrows at each other, Naruto and Sakura left the bathroom side-by-side, and headed for the lounge room. When they got there, they were able to identify the source of the couch problem. Apparently, Team 7's sensei was a little too full, exhausted and couldn't be stuffed going home last night, and had instead decided to crash in Naruto's living room. Anko Mitarashi was sleeping awkwardly across the couch, covered in a blanket, and the clothes she was wearing thrown everywhere, including her bra. The pair were easily amused by their sprawled out sensei, but were a little uncomfortable about the fact she was sleeping naked on the living room's main seat.

The Jonin mumbled in her sleep, drooling as she moved around.

"Mmmm… dango…hey… give it… uhh… back…Laverne…FLYING MONKEYS!" were some of the incoherent words falling off of her tongue. All the while she seemed to toss and turn a little, which was quite a hilarious sight. Naruto snickered, whereas Sakura locked both hands over her mouth to keep herself from laughing.

"There you go," said a now fully dressed Ryoko, wearing her camo pants, turtle neck, scarf and socks, with her hair once again done up. Arms folded, she propped herself up against the door frame and watched as the towel clad Naruto and still freshly awoken Sakura tried to wake their sensei up. "Out like a light… yet still managing to flicker…"

"Does she usually sleep naked?" Naruto wondered, poking his teacher in the cheek, but pulling back when her head turned and tried to bite it off. "Well… at least her reflexes when she's unconscious are still good…"

"She must have been drinking again," Sakura said, pointing out the two empty bottles of sake on the coffee table, and the hundred sticks of dango sticking into the surface next to them and Anko's t-shirt. Artistically, the purple-haired woman had arranged the sticks so that when you looked at them from above, formed the Hidden Leaf's symbol on the headband. Sakura tilted her head at the artwork and nodded her head, impressed.

"She's practically you in a nut-shell," Sakura, turning back towards Naruto.

A few more persuasive pokes to the face from Naruto, Sakura and even Ryoko roused Anko from her sleep. The purple haired woman woke up, groggily looking around first before yawning. Rubbing her dry eyes out, she looked up at her two students, and then up at the red-headed swordswoman on the other side of the couch, who was admiring the woman's bare upper-body.

"Morning all!" the snake-mistress exclaimed while stretching and thrusting her chest out. "I trust we all had a good night's sleep?"

"Apparently you did, sensei," Sakura commented, shaking her head as the woman got up, not at all fussed about her partial nudity. Naruto on the other hand turned and left intent on getting himself dressed. "You sure can hold your liquor."

"It's training…" Anko exclaimed, sitting back down on the couch and rubbing the back of her head.

"For what: a birthday-bash where people will be having a drinking competition to commemorate a late friend, pet or significant other?" Ryoko chuckled.

"Nope! It's to _up_ my alcohol endurance level, in preparation for the highly unlikely case that an enemy ninja might capture me and put me into a drunken state of mind to get information out of me… and yes… maybe to win my next drinking game against Ibiki and his buddies the next upcoming get together," Anko replied, putting her bra back on. By the time she got her tube top back on, Ryoko was smirking at the woman, rubbing her hands together deviously.

"Hey… maybe I can come along and help you put your friends into that comatose state also known as 'happy land'?" Ryoko exclaimed. "Out of the seven swordsmen… I was drinking champion seventeen times running!"

Anko looked up at the red-head, smirking. "You think you can take me?"

"Absolutely…"

"Alright then, you're on!" the Jonin replied, shaking hands with the swordswoman.

The rest of the morning was spent cleaning up from last night, and making breakfast. Since Naruto made dinner, it was someone else's turn to make breakfast. Since it was Anko who busted into the home first, she decided to treat them to some fried egg on toast with scrambled eggs. Hinata woke up with Haru not too long after Anko and Naruto got dressed, and soon, the entire group who had crashed at the jinchuriki's apartment was around the table, eating a lovely, home cooked breakfast.

While they were eating, Ryoko showed off the photograph of the _Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist_ from the copy of the ninja hand book she carried around with her to the Genin sitting around the table. Of course, since Hinata was sitting next to her, with Haru on her other side, the two of them became very curious, and leaned in to get a better look.

"It's an old picture, but I believe it's very accurate in portraying our old group," the red-headed stated. She first pointed to the middle of the picture, with Hinata and Haru showing expressive interest, since they have stopped eating to look. "The tall blue guy in the back wearing the grey and white camouflage cloak is Kisame Hoshigaki, with his sword Samehada on his back."

"Hey… h-he really does look like a shark," Hinata exclaimed light-heartedly, with Haru clapping her hands in amusement.

"Shark soup! Shark soup! Shark soup!"

Ryoko laughed. "Well… maybe I'll make some for you tonight…"

"YAY!"

"Kisame was one bad apple; they called him the _Monster of the Hidden Mist_. He was the one that really gave the Seven Ninja Swordsmen their fearsome reputation," the red-headed swordswoman said. She then pointed to the two ninja crouched in front of Kisame, first to the one on the left of Kisame. "That one with the two Lightning Fang Blades on his back is Raiga Kurosuki; _Thunder of the Hidden Mist_, still wearing his Jonin uniform and mask. He wasn't the strongest of us, but he did have that ruthless and merciless tenacity that earned him a place in our group. Strangely enough, he and I were the only members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen that didn't have that weird, shark like grin." Ryoko bared her teeth at the group in emphasis.

"I remember when I first met him, he didn't have those sharp teeth," Naruto said, swallowing the food in his mouth. He smiled as he poked his knife in her direction. "Was that picture made before or after he began carrying Ranmaru on his back?"

"Oh… he left the moment he picked the boy up from that village, so it was before," Ryoko stated. She then placed her hand on her chin in thought, looking up in clear body-language mind searching. "How is Ranmaru anyway?"

"He's doing great," Naruto replied, going back to his food. "He's actually an apprentice now, learning how to make curry…"

"Now that's a great career choice," Sakura exclaimed from her side of the table next to Anko, whom was stuffing her face with her fried egg sandwich. "I'm sure he'll be happy doing that."

"Anyway…" Ryoko continued, tearing everyone's attention back to her cook. She turned it around so that it faced everyone, and pointed towards the other man crouching beside Raiga on Kisame's right side. "That guy with his head bowed and hair tied back into a ponytail, that's Kariya; _Hurricane of the Hidden Mist_. He was the Mizukage's most loyal and trusted bodyguards whenever Kisame was out on missions. This was him wearing his Jonin uniform before he started wearing those ghastly sunflower-patterned samurai robes. He was stronger then Raiga, and used a sword called _Unlearnt_, a weapon that could impinge airstreams, and utilize water and dust to attack enemies. He was quite proficient at using it, but sadly died at Zabuza's hands." Ryoko shrugged and let out a sigh. "Oh well… I don't miss him. He was kind of a snob."

"Woot hapuned u is shword…" Anko asked through a mouth full of bread.

"Please choose to either eat or to speak, sensei," Sakura said, shaking her head at her master. The purple haired Jonin sighed and swallowed the food in her mouth, wiping away at her lips before turning back to the swordswoman staring at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Excuse me… what happened to his sword?"

"Who knows; maybe it's still on display in the Mizukage's office waiting for the next generation to pick it up," Ryoko replied. "So far, I don't think anyone has replaced him yet." Turning back to the book, she then pointed to the person standing left of Kisame. "That one with the arms crossed; that's _me_. My hair was a lot smoother back then, and I still had my left eye safely tucked away in its socket."

"You're quite tall compared to the others," Sakura pointed out, leaning across the table to get a better look.

"It's the way the photo was taken, Raiga and I were positioned much closer to the cameraman, who took the photo from the ground up to capture the heights of the others," Ryoko continued, before moving to the ninja standing behind her in the photo to her left at the very end. "That's Tsukahara; _Tsunami of the Hidden Mist,_ a couple years before he was replaced by Chojuro, who was his student at the time. He was the original wielder of the sword known as _Hiramekarei_, which could manipulate air currents and chakra to form and shape other weapons from its blade, as well as extend the range, strength and effectiveness of its attacks. When Tsukahara used the weapon, he was able to create shock waves so vast, that it could even form tidal waves on any water's surface, causing considerable damage to the surroundings. He was a prideful bastard, but he was at least kind and generous." She then moved to the big guy standing to the right of Kisame. "That guy with the gauze mask and the huge Executioner's Blade on his shoulder, that's Zabuza. His specialty is the Hidden Mist Jutsu you all know, and preferred direct attacks then using ninjutsu. This ability made him extremely dangerous, since very little of us could detect where his attacks would be coming from. He was third strongest in the group, closely followed by the guy standing on his right."

Ryoko then pointed towards the tall guy in front of Zabuza. "That guy with his hands on the hilt of his sword, that's Hikita; _Ghost of the Hidden Mist_. Next to Zabuza and me, that guy was something else. Out of all of us, Hikita had this stubborn tendency to get himself killed in battle. But somehow, he managed to bring himself back to life each and every time, even when he had his head chopped off. Hikita had this astounding ability to control separate parts of his body at will when they were severed from his body, and use a special translucent jutsu to mold the parts back together."

"That's kind of freaky," Anko said, tilting her head at the man with the long black hair on the far left of the picture. "That's one nasty scar on his chin…"

"It's a permanent mark Kisame made on Hikita when the guy challenged him for the right to lead the group, but ultimately got his butt kicked," Ryoko stated. "His sword is called Deity, the fifth largest sword of the group, and third strangest. Aside from _Samehada_ which had a life of its own, and my _Siren_ blade which could talk, _Deity_ had its own gravitational pull. Literally, with every swing, he would tear apart his surroundings or the body if it got too close, and the way he used it was quite incredible."

"H-He looks angry…" Hinata said, pointing out the obvious disapproving gleam on the man's face in the book.

"He was a funny guy in the head, and power hungry to boot. More times then once he tried to steal our swords," Ryoko said. "But each and every time we got back at him by slicing his head off in his sleep and burying it somewhere in the village just to piss him off."

Naruto, Sakura and Anko laughed, while Hinata was a little disturbed. Haru just laughed along with the others, not really getting the joke, but having a good time nonetheless. While Anko and Sakura were still holding their sides in amusement, Naruto wiped his eyes of shed tears and grinned at the smirking Ryoko.

"If it wasn't for the fact that you were committing manslaughter on your own teammate each and every time, that would be even more hilarious," Naruto exclaimed.

"Yeah… I was even considering slicing off something even more valuable on his body and hiding it somewhere, but then that would just be mean," Ryoko said, coaxing even more laughter from Anko and a blush from Sakura.

With a few more laughs and talking about the Seven Swordsmen, the group eventually got back down to finishing their breakfast, and cleaning up. Before long, Team 7 was dressed up and ready for their next mission. Leaving Ryoko in the care of little Haru, Naruto, Sakura, Hinata and Anko then proceeded down to the Hokage's Office to collect their mission specifications, looking forward to what the day had in store for them this time.

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	16. Journey to Wave

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Journey to Wave_

_**Hokage tower…**_

"…needless to say, I believe you three did very well on your last assignment," the Third exclaimed, looking over the three young Genin of Team 7 and their Jonin sensei, who was standing behind them proudly with her hands in her pockets. Naruto, Sakura and Hinata were pleased with the praise they were getting from the Hokage, and bowed in gratification to his smile.

Puffing on his pipe, the old ninja removed it from his mouth and blew out the smoke from his lungs, before facing the group again.

"Anko, you are doing a fine job training these three," the Hokage stated, nodding his head. "They may not have been prodigies on their graduation from the academy, but they are becoming quite unique shinobi, and I'm sure I'll be expecting a lot more of your great efforts in the future."

"Thanks, Hokage-sama," Anko replied, giving the old man her Cheshire like grin. "So, got any more missions for us to perform for yah?"

"Of course, of course… why don't we make it a C-rank mission this time, mix it up a little," Sarutobi suggested, lacing his fingers together and propping his elbows on his desk, nearly knocking aside his viewing orb. "This time I will test your teamwork compatibility. Since we have a large number of mission requests coming out and a lot of my Chunin are already out on separate missions, I will be temporarily splitting up Team 7 and mixing them up with the other graduated teams, since a couple of the Genin have called in sick or are visiting relatives. I'm sure you understand my reasoning behind this…"

The three Genin looked between each other questioningly, with Anko just shrugging her shoulders.

"What did you have in mind, old-man?" Anko asked.

The Hokage pulled out two separate scrolls, and unraveled the first one. Clearing his throat a little, he began summing up the details written on the parchment like paper.

"I was planning on giving this mission to Team 8, which was strongly requested for the Jonin leader's capable companions. But then, changes occurred before I could give them notice. Their Team is now short handed, as Kakashi Hatake has suddenly called in ill from food poisoning…" It was at this Naruto, Sakura and Hinata frowned and turned to glare up at their sensei. The purple haired Jonin saw their looks and, with a nervous chuckle, rubbed the back of her head.

"I spiked his rice before he came in for dinner last night…"

"With what?" Sakura asked.

Anko looked up in thought…

* * *

_**Meanwhile…**_

_**Across Konoha: Kakashi's Apartment…**_

"OH GOD! WHY WON'T IT STOP!" Kakashi screamed out from behind the door to his toilet, the rooms outside of it now beginning to smell very unpleasant.

The neighbors were rather disturbed by the outbursts coming from the Jonin's apartment, unaware of the fact that he was suffering from a severe case of violent diarrhea. Of course, instincts from the cries of agony and despair prompted them to call in some support from the patrolling ANBU. When they arrived at the apartment, they weren't able to access it due to the smell and, after much discussion, realized what was going on and decided to wait outside.

The ANBU with the hawk mask turned to his companion with the boar mask, both of them standing on either side of the door in a sort of guard of honor. The two shared glances, and winced as the cries continued to spill out through the locked door and closed windows.

"IT BURNS!" Kakashi cried out. "IT'S LIKE I SWALLOWED HOT LAVA! AAARRGGHH!"

"Should we call for a medic?" hawk asked his comrade, wincing at the continued screams of anguish.

"Nah… we got plenty of time," his friend replied, leaning up against the side of the wall and pulling out a newspaper. He flicked it open and began reading. "Let's just put this place under quarantine, it's a perfect way to kill time. I don't feel like doing much today anyway!"

"MOTHER OF GOD!"

Hawk sighed and shook his head, slumping over. He then crouched low and leapt away. "I'll get a doctor…"

"No rush!" his friend called out, reading the theater guide in the middle of the paper.

* * *

_**Back in the Hokage's Office…**_

"You know what, I'd rather not say," Anko replied, putting her hands back into her pockets and rocking back and forth on her feet. Naruto, Sakura and Hinata looked at each other, and then looked back at the Hokage, who had stopped when he realized that Team 7 was no longer listening.

When all attention fell back onto him, he cleared his throat and continued.

"Moving on…" the Hokage said, looking back at the open scroll. "With Kakashi incapacitated, Sasuke temporarily joining Team 10 on a C-Rank escort, and Kiba attending a family meeting, this leaves Shino on call. I'll be breaking up Team 7, with Naruto and Hinata joining Shino on _this_ mission, and Sakura joining Team 10 on the escort, filling in for Choji, who is performing a solo D-Rank task."

Hinata added up the numbers alongside Naruto, with the Hyuuga looking up to articulate the result. "So Team 7 will consist of me, Naruto-kun, Shino-kun, and Team 10 will be consisting Sakura-san, Sasuke, Ino and Shikamaru?"

Sarutobi nodded with a smile. "That is correct. Of course, Anko will help with the escort mission with Team 10, filling in for Asuma, who I have sent on a B-Rank mission just last night, and Kurenai will be taking over Team 7 temporarily. This will further test your teamwork capabilities in unfamiliar environments, as I will be sending both teams on C-Rank assignments."

The three Genin nodded, although Sakura was a bit disappointed to be torn away from her group. But at least she had Anko with her, although this proved to be a less comforting notion. The purple haired Jonin nodded to the village leader, her look becoming serious.

"I will gather together the team and meet you here in half-an-hour, sir," she stated. The Third nodded, and tossed the woman the mission scroll for Team 10, which she caught enthusiastically. Taking Sakura by the shoulder, she smiled down at her. "Come on pinky, we have our marching orders! Let's go!" Sakura hastily moved for the door, waving to Naruto and Hinata before she left the room.

"See you guys later!" she called. Naruto and Hinata waved after her, as their friend and Anko vanished down the hallway. At the same time, they saw Shino walked in through the closing door, the boy with his hands in his pockets strolling up to the desk and falling into formation beside Naruto and Hinata.

The two members of Team 7 smiled at the boy, who nodded back to them.

"Great to see you again, Shino," Naruto exclaimed.

"And to you, Naruto Uzumaki," the bug user replied in his usual monotone, even though he was happy. He turned to Hinata, who smiled sweetly at the boy. "Hinata, are you doing well?"

"Yes, Shino-kun," she replied. "It is very nice…to see you again as well."

Forming a row, the three of them then turned back to the Hokage, and stood their waiting for their Jonin leader to show up. Eventually she did, Kurenai slipping in through the window to the right of the desk, smiling as she slipped in.

"Sorry I'm a bit late, I got tangled up in the crowd," she replied.

"That's fine Kurenai, just don't make a habit out of it like Kakashi," Sarutobi replied, watching the raven haired woman approach her team. "At least it's not two hours late like him… honestly, that boy…"

Kurenai smiled as she filed up behind Naruto, Shino and Hinata, with the three of them greeting her in kind. Once in formation, they turned back to the old Hokage and awaited their mission specs. The man in the funny hat unrolled the last of the two scrolls that were in front of him, and read through it briefly. After skimming through it, he then rolled it up and tossed it over to Kurenai, who caught it with ease.

"This one will be relatively simple, Kurenai. As this is your second command of a Genin Team, as this is a mixed unit, I expect this to be done by the book," the Third said, earning a nod from the woman. "However, given an unexpected scenario, you are to act on instinct if need be. Since this is a C-Rank mission, the most likely trouble you should be encountering would be nothing more then highway robbers or mercenaries."

"Understood, sir," Kurenai said, nodding her head.

"Although…" the Third turned to Naruto and raised an eyebrow at him. "I guess I should be expecting some surprises by the end of it…"

The blonde grinned, while Hinata giggled at the handsome and carefree look he gave in return. "I'll try to keep it to a minimal, old man!"

"Mmm…" Sarutobi murmured, leaning back into his chair and huffing on his pipe. He smiled at the boy, winking at him. "At least your new 'friend' wasn't too much trouble, although she did complain about the cleanliness of the interrogation chamber, and offered a few tips to Ibiki to improve torture efficiency. She said the boredom was too… well… boring. In response, Ibiki sent a written complaint to me in regards to the 'people' I was sending him."

"I guess she's a breath of fresh air to the facility, eh?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Yes…'_fresh air'_…" the Third replied with a smirk, shaking his head. He then waved at them. "Get going; your client is waiting in the lounge down below!"

Bowing, the Genin and their Jonin team leader left the Hokage to his devices. Walking down the hall and down the set of stairs, they eventually came across the waiting room, with a few clients sitting around on the couches, waiting for the ninja assigned to them. Stepping forward, Kurenai opened up the scroll she was given and identified their man.

"Tazuna; the Bridge Builder? Which one of you is he?" she asked out loud.

"That would be me!" a gruff, lazy voice replied to the group's left, and they turned to see a grumpy old man rise from his seat, backpack and everything.

He wasn't exactly the last pick in the draft, but at least he was travel-equipped. The man wore brown working clothes, and carried a custom-designed traveling pack and had a straw hat hanging from his neck. The scent of whisky and sake did not go unnoticed by Kurenai and the others, with the leader of the team rolling up the scroll and pocketing it, watching as the old man approached them, scratching the back of his head.

When he arrived at their side, he inspected the four of them, at the same time giving them a look that said he wasn't that impressed.

"So… they assigned a bunch of kids and a super model to protect me, eh?" the man groaned. Naruto was a bit taken aback by the old man, but he respectably held his tongue. Shino was looking at the man with apprehension, and Hinata just continued smiling kindly, despite the man's obvious disapproval. "Well, I get what I paid for. As long as you guys are ninja, it doesn't matter one bit, so long as you can protect me."

"It's a team building job," Kurenai replied, smiling slightly. "Though I'm flattered by your comment, you weren't exactly what we expected either."

"Of course I'm not!" Tazuna replied gruffly, before poking himself in the chest. "I'm Tazuna, Master Bridge Designer and Builder, and I need a bunch of ninja to guard me on my way back home, and to hang around until my project is completed. Can I count on you for that?"

"You certainly can," Kurenai replied, placing her hands on two of the Genin. "We've picked the best hands for this kind of job. I can guarantee you will not be disappointed."

"Very well then," Tazuna replied, stepping forward and bending over, getting a better look at the trio. He adjusted the glasses he wore as he inspected them, while being taken aback by the blonde haired one. "I suppose _you_ will do. Although, I don't know how you can sneak around with that light-bulb of a hair style…"

"For your information, it's inherited, old man!" Naruto replied, pointing out the top of his noggin. "I could have gotten red, but unfortunately I got my dad's hairstyle!"

"It means no difference to me, so long as you do your job," Tazuna replied, straightening up and looking at the Jonin leader. "I'll meet you at the East Gate."

Kurenai nodded. "Very well then," was her reply, before she looked down at the three Genin scattered around her. "Pack for a long trip, we're going to Wave Country. Make sure to bring the essentials."

Doing as they were told, the three Genin headed off…

* * *

Meeting back up with their team leader and Tazuna at the East Gate, they were more then ready for the journey ahead. However, on every journey, there would always be unexpected surprises and obstacles they would have to over come. This trip would prove to be a life changer for all of them; they just didn't know it yet.

Of course, when Naruto, Hinata and Shino arrived at the East exit to the village, they were pretty much confident that this relatively simple mission would go smoothly and soundly. By the way Naruto was chatting animatedly with Hinata, meant that he was at ease about the whole situation, with Shino falling relatively into their category. Kurenai smiled at the three of them, then ushered them into convoy fashion, thus beginning their trip. Tazuna followed in between the small group, hands at his sides as he listened to what the children were yakking on about.

"Don't you think plain dango should have more sugar on it, Hinata?" Naruto asked, shrugging his shoulders and adjusting his pack as he trudged alongside her, with Shino behind them. "I mean, I've got a killer sweet tooth to satisfy, which is why I love snacking on a treat once in a while. The new dango they are making at the dango store, in my opinion, aren't really that sweet."

"I-I'm not sure, Naruto. Maybe they changed chefs recently," Hinata replied, smiling at him. "Perhaps… I can… make you a batch of my own."

"Really? That sounds great!" Naruto exclaimed, putting his hands behind his head. "I know you're a great cook, Hinata! It should be awesome!"

"Y-Yes…" Hinata said with a smile, blushing lightly at his compliment. "W-When we get back home…I'll be sure to make you some, Naruto-kun."

"Hehe!"

"Dango, eh?" Shino spoke up, with Naruto and Hinata turning round to face him in response. "In my honest opinion, I reckon the sauce should make the dumplings sweeter. When it comes down to it, the molding of the sauce with the dumplings should make an exquisite delight…"

"Hey, I think you're on to something Shino!" Naruto replied, smiling at him. "I never knew you were a fan of dango?"

"Every so often, I like to treat myself as well," the bug user stated, lowering his head a little. "Dango makes for an excellent treat, so does bean soup. Perhaps adding a little rosemary to the finished soup would help it along nicely…"

"Hmm…" Hinata thought to herself, tapping her chin. "You're right Shino. We could add some spices to the soup, create a new one…"

"Not like the _**Red Dragon**_ though," Shino commented, glancing at Naruto who grinned mischievously at the name. "I don't think my bugs can handle the flavor…"

"Of course, but my stew-soup can't even compare to the curry sold at the _Curry of Life_ shop where Lee frequently visits," Naruto replied, groaning a bit at the memory and looking up toward the sky. "I couldn't taste anything for a week…"

Hinata giggled. "Maybe I can make you some…" Naruto chuckled and looked over at Hinata and Shino.

"Maybe we can all share, I'll give you the recipe and we can whip up something," Naruto exclaimed.

"Sounds… fun…" Shino said, smiling slightly under his collar.

Kurenai shook her heads at the three of them, and then turned towards Tazuna, who had just taken a swig from his whisky flask. Wiping his mouth off, the old man then faced the black haired Jonin, a look of questioning written on his face.

"They seem green, don't you think?" Tazuna asked, now noticing that they were now entering the incline leading down to the low lands connected to the coastal areas. Wave may be a couple of hours away, but he recognized the territory this far inland well. "As their teacher, you must have an opinion on them?"

"Oh…" Kurenai smiled at the old man. "They're not really my students, I was pulled in as a substitute for the team leader, since we're a bit short handed at the moment. The Hokage feels that we should shuffle leadership a bit to test and improve our Genin teamwork. Genin teams like this one are usually assigned D-Rank missions, but because of their recognized skill levels, the Kage believes that the graduating class of this year should start undertaking more difficult missions. I must admit though, the Nine Graduated Genin are progressing well."

"Hmm…" Tazuna looked back at the three, watching as Hinata and Naruto laughed together, and a quiet Shin shrugged at the joke that they shared with each other. "Still…my confidence in these three is substantially low. I never really expected to have children guarding me…"

"Not to worry, I am a Jonin of course," Kurenai said with a smile. "If the three of them should slip up, I assure you I won't."

The group continued on tour, for the next hour following a winding trail down a slight incline, before leveling out at sea level. Here, the forests of the Land of Fire seemed to thin out a little, and the sky became more open. This meant that with the wider clearings, they could spot an attack coming from a mile away.

Things seemed to get really quiet, as Hinata and the others stopped talking and were busy observing. Naruto had quickly snatched up a grass reed, and was chewing on the end of it, with his hands still behind his head and eyes closed. He seemed pretty at peace with his surroundings, particularly when they crossed a small river leading to the coastline, where he was able to make out a few colorful fish swimming by. Shino even seemed to come under the attention of a couple of dragonflies, and even allowed one to land on his shoulder and rest there for a bit.

Adjusting his jacket, Naruto looked over into the forest, where he spotted a male reindeer grazing near the edge. The animal looked up, and watched without any movement as the group traveled by. The blonde smiled at the creature and looked ahead of him, the sound of a falcon bird high above their heads adding to the other natural sounds around them. It was quite a lovely countryside.

However, something became a miss for Naruto when they entered an even wider clearing sometime down the path. He cracked an eye open and looked around, his nose not only catching a whiff of something foul, but his senses caught onto chakra lingering in the air.

It was when the group came across a puddle in the middle of their path he realized the trouble. Since there had been no rainfall recently in the area, the blonde knew something was up. Calculating the chakra he sensed in the immediate area, as well as local weather forecasts for the month, he knew exactly what was going on.

A snide smile spread across his lips, and with his hands still in his pockets, walked ahead of the group at a much faster pace, stopping at the puddle. Hinata, Shino and Tazuna became puzzled by his actions, but Kurenai remained quiet, and watched how the blond handled the situation she also caught on to.

"Naruto? What are you d-doing?" Hinata asked, approaching the blond.

"I think I know…" Shino replied.

Surprisingly enough, Naruto then suddenly began stomping in the puddle with one foot, humming to himself as he rhythmically pounded into it. Kurenai watched on in shock and let out a sigh, slapping her forehead.

"_This boy's methods are so unorthodox…"_

After a minute or so of stomping the puddle, Naruto stepped back, smirking down at the puddle.

"I know you're there, so you can come out now…"

Eventually, whatever was hiding in the puddle did, with the water suddenly shooting up into the air slowly, but surely, forming into the shape of a person. That person was then added color, revealed to be a spiky haired ninja wearing a black poncho with a visible gauntlet on his right arm, and a breathing mask covering his face. The headband visible on his forehead revealed that he was from Kirigakure.

After appearing before the group, the man staggered forward a bit, before falling unconscious to the floor, visible bruises on his head and his eyes swirling animatedly. The groaning missing nin from Kirigakure could barely register to anything as Naruto crouched down next to him, soon joined by Shino and Hinata.

"Yo! You still with us buddy?" Naruto asked.

"OOoohhh… pretty colors…"

"Typical," Shino replied, looking up at Naruto. "How did you know?"

Naruto pointed towards the sky. "Seen any rain clouds recently?"

"Oh… I see," Hinata said, the realization clicking in her mind. "You've got a good eye, Naruto-kun."

"In a manner of speaking," Naruto replied, rubbing the back of his head with a smile. "Although… I still have trouble finding that bad milk at the back of my fridge…"

Hinata nodded, before using her Byakugan and checking, not only the unconscious shinobi at their feet, but also spotting another one lurking in the ground nearby. Tracking the chakra signature, she pointed in the direction of a second, hidden foe.

"There's another one, under the ground…" Hinata said.

The three of them got to their feet, with Shino reaching down and grabbing the gauntlet of the fallen brother. Pressing the retraction button on the device, the mechanics then began retracting the shuriken chain attached to it, and in a whir of revving gears, began pulling the second shinobi to the surface. In a matter of seconds, Kurenai and Tazuna watched as the second, younger brother was pulled to the surface, the Chunin exploding from the ground with a roar, and he charged the three Genin.

Shino shrugged and, taking a stance alongside Hinata, both of them punched out, socking the flying man right in the chest, while ducking underneath his clawed arm. The Chunin was knocked senseless when he stopped in mid-air, and was delivered with those two powerful blows to his stomach. In that same few seconds, Naruto leapt over both Shino and Hinata, and while the rogue ninja was still suspended, the blonde grabbed him by the head and drove him straight down into the ground, cracking the earth with the force. The ninja immediately stopped twitching as he too slipped into unconsciousness.

Getting to his feet in front of Shino and Hinata, Naruto dusted himself down and turned to meet Tazuna's shocked expression. His two companions also turned, all three of them folding their arms and glaring at the old man.

"Do you trust us now?" Naruto asked.

"Do we qualify as capable shinobi by your standards?" Shino also asked.

"D-Do tell…" Hinata finished, trying to pull off a serious look and tone.

Tazuna, now under scrutiny of the three kids, gulped and looked down. He nodded his head and let out a sigh. "I… feel I… owe you three an apology…"

"Credit due," Kurenai exclaimed, smiling at the three of them and walking forward. She placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder, and congratulated the three of them. "You three did well, Naruto, Shino, Hinata… although…" She looked over at Naruto, who was still smiling smugly. "You could be a bit more discreet with your actions, Naruto…"

The blond shrugged, rubbing the back of his head in earnest. "Yeah, I could've… but these were small fry… no biggy."

"Still, I'm confused," Shino said, turning back towards the two fallen rogue ninja, hands back in their pockets. "Why would two rogue ninja from a friendly village target us? It's not like we have any bounties on our heads, or are transporting anything of value. Any reasons for these two to attempt to attack us are a bit sketchy."

"Unless…" Kurenai began, glancing back at the old man standing behind them. "…our client is keeping secrets from us in regards to the mission specifications." Tazuna stepped back a bit, now looking a bit more nervous then ever. "Of curse, he paid for a simple C-Rank mission and no higher… so why ninja would be targeting him is beyond me?"

"I guess …I have a bit more explaining to do…" he said, watching as the three Genin analyzed the weapon used by the two problems and the uniqueness of it. Hinata particularly became fascinated by the chain of shuriken and how it was laced with each other. Naruto sighed and shook his head, finally recognizing the two shinobi that had attacked them.

"I know these two…" he said, getting to his feet and folding his arms, smirking at the unconscious duo. "And if the _Demon Brothers_ are here… then the other guy can't be too far behind…"

"Other guy?" Shino queried, looking up at the blond. Hinata rose to her feet, now looking a tad bit concerned.

"N-Naruto-kun… you mean… there's going to be more of them?" she asked.

"I guess so," Naruto replied, turning to his friends with a smile. "Don't worry about it, I know these guys, so we should be able to avoid a confrontation from here on out." He then turned to look at their Jonin leader and Tazuna. "Sensei, in light of this situation, I feel that we should continue on with the mission. We're near the coast line, and I believe that the people behind this assassination attempt on Tazuna would reveal themselves sooner or later." He looked back at the two Chunin. "If they sent ninja of this rank in first, then a shinobi much higher up on the totem pole is more then likely to follow up. I doubt that these guys would know anything anyway, or could give us anything for that matter…"

Kurenai raised an eyebrow at the boy. "Are you certain about this, Naruto?"

Naruto shrugged. "I get around a lot. You'd be surprised." He then turned to consult Shino and Hinata. "What do you guys think?"

"Well…" Shino lowered his head, sunglasses flashing in the light. "Bringing down two Chunin simultaneously in this case, proves that we are capable of facing whatever else may be coming our way. However, if there is going to be another shinobi later onwards, then there is the high possibility that he is going to be of Jonin rank. That may be a bit of a problem…" He looked at Naruto seriously for a moment. "Still, if our teamwork so far has shown us anything, is that we are able to pull through tougher scrapes then this. I can trust your judgment as well as my own, Naruto Uzumaki…"

"I-I will follow Naruto-kun," Hinata stated, smiling at the boy. "I can trust him with whatever decision he makes… I'm sure we will be fine." Kurenai sighed and placed her hands on her hips, looking down at the Genin with apprehension.

"I guess the vote has been cast," Kurenai said, before turning back to Tazuna, her look becoming serious again. "We will continue on with the mission as planned. However, because of certain events that have transpired, we will talk about this on our way to your village, understand?"

"Yes I do," Tazuna replied.

Tying up the two brothers to a tree on the side of the road, as well as checking for anything that might help them to escape, Naruto, Shino and Hinata secured their unconscious targets, and regrouped. To make things more interesting, Naruto took their wallets and pocketed them.

Noting to pick them up on the way back, Team7 then proceeded on trek as normal. They became a bit more cautious though, now on the look out for anything out of the ordinary. Kurenai, senses now more intone, walked alongside Tazuna and questioned him on his situation. He revealed without much hesitation that a millionaire named Gatou was out to get him in response to the massive bridge he was building, connecting the Wave Country to the mainland. Because of this bridge, Tazuna had become a threat to Gatou's business plans in the Wave Country, which he was profiteering off of. Having taken control of all the shipping, he was making money off of everything that came in and out of the country by boat.

By the time the group got down to the coast line, and had hopped into the boat that Tazuna had arranged with his friend at the wheel, he had finished up with his story, explaining why his people could not afford the B-Rank mission, but instead a C-Rank mission.

Amidst the foggy channel, the boat carrying the traveling Team 7 and Tazuna passed right by the bridge that was under construction. It was simply massive, even though it wasn't completed yet.

The group didn't have much time to marvel at it though, for fear of being spotted by one of Gatou's patrol boats. Quickly, the boat's Captain rowed the small vessel into the port at the base of the bridge, where it emerged out of the mist hanging over the ocean into a beautiful village built around a mangrove swamp. Slowly, but surely, the boat sailed them to the walkway connected to dry land, where Team 7 was let off with their worried client in tow. Bidding thanks, farewell and good luck to the fisherman who had gone through all the trouble to take them here, he then set off to attend to other business, leaving the group on their own.

Kurenai tailed behind Tazuna, while the Genin fanned out in front of her. Knowing they were in Gatou territory, they were all expecting an attack to come from anywhere. The raven haired Jonin was particularly worried, not from plain instinct, but was also a little concerned by what Naruto had planned. She knew the boy knew more then he was letting on, and that made her uneasy.

"_If things continue to transpire as they are, and what our client said was true, then after Gatou receives word that the Chunin have failed, there will be a Jonin waiting for us,"_ Kurenai thought, shaking her head. She reached and undid the clasp of her kunai holster. _"Rogue ninja from the Hidden Mist are particularly hard to beat, particularly when using Genjutsu. I may be at a disadvantage here…"_

Naruto hummed to himself as he strode on, still chewing on the reed in his mouth. Hinata noted the boy's carefree mood and smiled.

"You seem relaxed, N-Naruto-kun," she exclaimed.

The boy grinned back at her, noting that they had far gone left the main, beachside village behind them, and were now heading for Tazuna's home on the outskirts of the town.

"I have the right to be," Naruto replied.

"It's a bit unwise, even for you, Naruto Uzumaki," Shino stated, giving the blond his usual, stoic look. "You should really be on guard…"

Naruto chuckled and shrugged. "Don't worry… things between me and the bad guys we're likely to encounter are good…"

"I hope you're right…" Shino murmured.

Now about half a click away from Tazuna's home, Team 7 thought they were home free. That was until they reached the ocean channel which Tazuna's home was built aside, did things start taking a drastic turn.

A scuffle in the bushes beside them caught everyone's attention, and in a swift motion, Kurenai drew her kunai and with a quick spin between her fingers, tossed it into the shrubs. The rustling finished with a loud clunk, and Naruto, Shino and Hinata watched as a rabbit suddenly jumped out of the bushes, scurrying away. Tazuna watched with amusement as the rabbit leapt away, though was still a little nervous when he thought someone was hiding away, out to get them.

"Oh… it was just a little critter," he laughed, coughing into his hand. "Harmless…"

"You think so, huh?" Shino exclaimed in monotone. Hinata giggled as she watched the rabbit stop in the middle of the road, sniff the air and eye the group suspiciously.

"It's so cute," she exclaimed, crouching low and holding her hand out to the fluffy animal. It approached them slowly, observing the five humans as it cautiously hopped forward. When it reached Hinata, it allowed her to pet him, the girl smiling softly as the rabbit moved into her hand. "Your fur is so soft. She's very healthy…"

"Hello again, old friend," Naruto exclaimed, crouching down and petting the rabbit as well. The white mammal took a bit of a shine to the blond, and nestled up against his leg, almost like a cat. "Where's your master, eh?"

"That snow rabbit's coat doesn't have the right color," Shino commented, eyeing the little critter suspiciously, as did Kurenai. He looked up towards the trees, noting the fact that there was still an unfamiliar aura floating about in the air. The lingering chakra signature, and a large one at that, was still hanging around them, and the bug user was attempting to hone it down to its concealed source. "If I know animals, the rabbit's fur is only white during winter, when the days are short and there is little sunlight. The fact that its coat is white means that it must have been raised indoors."

"I agree, Shino," Kurenai replied, stepping out of the circle formed by the group, and looked up towards the treetops, raising an eyebrow. "This rabbit was used as a substitute and a distraction, which means that our next opponent and enemy, has already arrived…"

"Oh please, the owner of this rabbit is no enemy," Naruto replied rising to his feet and walking out into the pen, outside of the group. Kurenai looked over at the boy as he scanned the treetops, attempting to lock onto the source of the chakra in the air. He stopped when he was ten meters out, and pulled his right hand out of his jacket pocket. Jerking his wrist, a custom handle grip shot out, followed by a small gauntlet with a bow protruding from his cuffs. "I know you're there, Zabuza!"

Cranking a dial on the handle he held in his right hand, Naruto raised it and fired an arrow into the treetops. A second thud was heard in the shrubbery, and suddenly, a shadow leapt out of the treetops. Naruto watched with a smirk as the figure flipped through the air over him, and landed in the middle of the road the group was following, an even louder thud of metal echoing around them when the figure landed a top of a massive sword, which impaled itself in the ground.

Perched on the tip of the giant Executioner Blade's handle, standing up straight with his hands in his pockets, and wearing the familiar camo garb, black vest and gauze mask wrapped around his face and neck, was the distinct member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist, Zabuza Momochi. Smirking through his mask, the powerful Jonin glared at the blond with a raised eyebrow, and chuckled when he recognized the boy he had ran in to a couple of years back.

"So… it appears I have run into the student of the wandering, perverted hermit," Zabuza exclaimed in his rough, low voice, almost menacing when he spoke. He cracked his neck to the side as he eyed not only Naruto, but the group behind him, which had its Team leader Kurenai on her toes and ready for a confrontation, kunai drawn. "Jiraiya's brat, eh? Naruto is it?"

"You're quick to forget about me, Zabuza-sensei… yet you are a tad bit slow in remembering who I am," Naruto replied, chuckling a little. "After everything we've been through."

"Of course, but…" Zabuza began, stepping off of his sword and landing on the ground with a tap. Pulling it from the ground, he marched towards the by hurriedly, with Shino and Hinata now becoming worried for their friend. Kurenai leapt forward, drawing a second kunai and getting ready to throw, while Shino gripped his high collar and pulled it down, a swarm of beetles beginning to crawl out from their confinements. However, when Zabuza came with arms length of the boy, he stopped, swinging his blade around and sheathing it on his back. Grinning under his mask, he held his hand out to the blond, meeting his boy's glare. "It's great to see you again, brat."

Naruto grinned back and shook his hand in turn. "Nice to see you too, Zabuza." With a brief but firm handshake, they retracted arms, and Naruto looked around, obviously expecting someone else. "So… is Haku around?"

The swordsman smiled and nodded, looking up towards a nearby tree to his left and waving. In a swirl of leaves, a masked ninja with black hair tied up into a top bun, and wearing forest green robes. Kurenai, Shino and Hinata were indeed surprised at a second shinobi on the battlefield, their first thoughts being that this newcomer was a part of Kirigakure's ANBU or Hunter Nin corps, what with the markings on his mask. However, when the Hunter Nin took up the left flank beside Zabuza and removed his mask, they immediately knew that he was no Black Op member or anything such, since those guys never show their faces.

"You've grown a lot since I last saw you, Naruto," Haku exclaimed in a friendly voice, revealing a healthy and radiant smile behind the white and red mask. "Training hard?"

"Well… of course…"

"And you're a Genin from Konohagakure now," Zabuza commented, folding his arms over his chest, at the same time glancing up at the blonde's teammates. "Isn't that kind of a step down for you, brat? I mean, when you weren't a ninja, at least you didn't have to follow orders."

"I'm flexible with my time," Naruto exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head and grinning broadly. "There is time for teamwork and time for freelance work. I've still got a couple of those masks Haku gave to me in my collection!" The by emphasized this point by reaching into his jacket and showing off the white and red porcelain mask hanging from a bandoleer strapped around a mesh shirt, along with an arsenal of other weapons. "You may even recognize its picture in the bingo book…"

"You're working your way up in the world," Zabuza commented, with Haku smiling up at him. "I've heard many stories about a shadow less shinobi showing up every now and again in the Land of Fire, as well as several other countries, with a method of fighting similar to that of the Forth Hokage. These occurrences usually span over the course of a month. Been busy?"

"Oh yeah," Naruto replied, zipping up his jacket and pocketing his hands. He glanced over at Haku. "Been keeping your sensei safe?"

Haku nodded enthusiastically. "I have. And I have also been training hard too."

"Good to see you're getting out and getting some sun," the blond replied. Remembering that his team was still waiting patiently behind him, he looked back and waved them over, before looking back up at Zabuza. "Unfortunately, I find us standing on different ends of the chessboard, Zabuza. I assume Gatou hired you to assassinate Tazuna?"

"Yes…" the swordsman replied, arms still folded as he watched the group approach them. "He ordered me to kill this man, and for a pretty high sum to?"

"Did he pay you yet?" Naruto asked. The former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen was a bit caught off guard by this question and in a show of discomfort, cleared his throat and loosened the gauze around his neck.

"Well… uhh… no… not yet," Zabuza replied. Naruto slapped his forehead, letting out a sigh.

"Sensei… I told you, _half now, half on delivery_!" the blond grumbled, glaring up at the tall shinobi, who was now flustering under his mask. Fists on his hips, the boy continued his little lecture. "When I make a deal, I make sure I get paid half to ensure myself that I at least get some of my cut, Kami forbid, should I ever get stabbed in the back by my client!" Naruto shook his head, just as the others arrived and stood about a couple meters out behind the boy. "Well, I guess that is a good thing in this case. If you haven't been paid, that means I can hire you for something else."

"I doubt you will be able to pay me in the amount Gatou has offered my group for that man's head," Zabuza replied, gesturing to Tazuna, before looking back down at the boy. "Unless you can _**up**_ it with something else of greater value…"

"Actually, I can!" Naruto replied, reaching inside his jacket pocket again. He fumbled around, trying not to cut himself on the arrows and kunai sheathed in his bandoleer. Kurenai and Tazuna looked at each other oddly, while Hinata and Shino watched with interest as the blond attempted to turn this encounter with the enemy ninja into their favor. "Let's see… I know I have it in here somewhere. AH-HA!"

Shouting in triumph, the boy pulled out a package, gift wrapped with a pretty red bow on it. Zabuza was a bit taken aback at the small four inch by five inch package, with Haku also curious by the package. Naruto dusted himself down and handed the man the gift.

"I believe you pre-ordered this, Zabuza."

Curious, the man took it and opened the package. When the paper fell away, the rogue ninja was greeted by a magnificent sight. He exaggerated it so much, that a visible light could be seen shining off of the cover of the book he was holding.

"Oh my…GOD! This is…this is… is…"

"_Icha Icha Hotsprings_, hard book cover and autographed by Ero-Sennin himself; they don't come out for another few weeks," Naruto replied. Everyone standing behind Naruto fell over backwards, anime style. Perhaps the drama of the unveiling was a little too much and unexpected.

Zabuza hugged the book to him, and even went as far as to inhale its new book scent. Looking down at his student, he saw Haku giving him a dirty look, and he quickly pocketed it, chuckling in embarrassment.

"I'm a fan…"

"Heh-heh… so… we got ourselves a deal?" Naruto asked, holding his hand out to the tall man, who looked back at him with a much light-hearted expression. "You do, after all, owe me big from that last gig we pulled back when I was still in training. If I remember correctly that was a very pricy mission, and you took the whole cut for yourself."

"Alright… fine," Zabuza exclaimed, holding his hands up. "We have a deal, kid." He shook the boy's hand. "I'll help you guys along with whatever mission you have with the geezer, and anything else you may need. Heh… this way I won't be adding anymore guilt on my conscience."

"Well… enjoy the walk, we just need to get to our client's house first before anything else," Naruto replied, nodding in the direction they were headed. "Come on…" The blond led on, with Haku accompanying him so that the two old friends could catch up. Zabuza smirked after the boy, folding his arms. Hinata and Shino jogged past him, also catching up to Naruto and Haku to make introductions clear. During which, Kurenai walked up alongside Zabuza and stopped, allowing Tazuna to go on ahead.

Zabuza looked down at the Jonin, who was glaring up at him suspiciously.

"What?" he asked with a shrug.

"You're Zabuza Momochi, right; rogue ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist and one of the _Seven Ninja Swordsmen_, correct?" Kurenai asked. The eyebrow-less ninja shrugged his shoulders and walked on, closely followed by the raven haired shinobi woman.

"I'm honored that a lot of shinobi know my name at the sight of me, especially you, Kurenai Yuhi. You may be a young Jonin, but your reputation precedes you," the Jonin replied, every so often looking down at the glaring Konoha shinobi. "I know I've developed a bad rep in my time, but that provides me with extra insurance. Being well known as a 'ruthless, cold-hearted killer' so to speak, means that no one will even think of causing me any trouble when I walk into a bar for a drink." He said this in sort of a joking way, but passed it off as a bit more serious then wanted.

"Don't expect me to fall into that line of fear," Kurenai replied, seriousness still laced in her voice. "What's your angle here? Gatou hired you, yet you are willing to help us because one of my students knows you? I expected someone with your history, would never be bargained over by a kid, especially after making a deal. A man part of a group sworn by oaths and making agreements that cannot be broken? Isn't that what the _Seven Ninja Swordsmen_ were trained to follow?"

"We may be shinobi, but we are friends through and through," Zabuza answered, nodding in Naruto's direction. "I met that boy years ago when he was traveling around with one of the Legendary Three Sannin. He's a good kid, and sure gave me a mouth full whenever he was around me and Haku." He looked down at the red-eyed Jonin, raising an eyebrow at her (well… if he had any). He then smiled at her. "You should also be aware of the fact that many of the original _Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist_ defected from the village, influenced by greed, free will and also searching for a greater purpose in life."

"What was your reason for leaving?" Kurenai asked, a little curious as to his excuse. What she found next from the dangerous ninja was something she did not expect.

Zabuza, still smiling, looked up towards the kids, who were locked in animated discussion, particularly Haku and Hinata, the two of them becoming more familiar with one another.

"I left for the benefit of Haku," Zabuza exclaimed, grinning widely. "I didn't realize it at first, but I cared for my student more then I let on. Other then that…I guess it was because of greed that forced me to leave my village."

"After you tried to assassinate the Mizukage, right?" Kurenai raised an eyebrow at him, earning a frown from the sword wielder.

"Mizukage Ameritus was a tyrant, no matter how you looked at it," Zabuza replied, folding his arms over his chest. "I'm grateful he's been replaced. Where he's gone I have no idea. Still… I'm a little pissed that I couldn't kill him myself."

Kurenai smiled a small one towards him, and turned back to the road ahead, catching a glimpse of the house by the side of the water side. "When we get there, you, Tazuna and I are going to sit down and have a serious chat…"

"Fine with me," Zabuza replied, pocketing his hands.

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	17. Surprise Attack

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Surprise Attack_

_**Tazuna's Home…**_

By late afternoon, Team 7 was able to finally rest from a day of walking, and a not too extreme event. Since they had passed most of the major threats on their journey so far, not to mention securing one of those threats along the way as an ally, the group had plenty of time to kill. They were introduced to Tazuna's small family upon arrival, Tsunami, his daughter, and Inari, his grandson. Understandably, the boy seemed displeased at the ninja, the moment they walked into the dining room, he stormed off.

After introductions were made, Kurenai pulled Zabuza and Tazuna aside for talking, leaving the Genin to their own devices. While the adults sat at the dining table, Hinata and Haku were outside, talking about other matters, whereas Shino was sitting under a tree, admiring the view of the setting sun. Naruto, however, had gone off somewhere.

Slamming his empty glass down, Tazuna sighed and shook his head.

"Gatou is getting desperate," the old bridge builder stated, looking between Kurenai and Zabuza sitting on opposite ends of the table. "Seeing as that he's starting to higher dangerous mercenaries to try and kill me, means that he's getting worried at the completion of the bridge."

"How long until the bridge is completed, anyway?" Kurenai asked.

"We've got about a week until it is finished," Tazuna replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Since I did ask for a C-Rank protection mission from Konohagakure…"

"Don't worry, my team and I will be sticking around until the bridge is done, you have my word," Kurenai stated. "We were paid beforehand to protect our client until he has completed his task; _**that**_ was the original agreement, and we're gonna stick to it…"

Zabuza nodded his head, sword propped up next to him, and his fingers laced together. "No doubt Gatou will continue finding ways to stop you. Once he finds out that my group has 'failed' to kill you, he's more then likely to hire somebody else to replace me."

"Did he happen to mention a replacement for you if you should fail?" Kurenai asked him, curiously. The ninja swordsman shook his head.

"I scared him out of that idea," Zabuza replied, grinning underneath his mask. "I do have that way with people, after all."

"Of course," Kurenai sighed. "Tenacious, ruthless, ugly, eyebrow-less…"

"Hey!" Zabuza glared at her. "That was a low blow…"

Kurenai giggled. "Sorry…I just had to…"

"You people are insane," Tazuna commented, glaring at the two ninja.

"If we weren't, then we wouldn't be ninja, now would we," Zabuza added, glancing over at the old bridge builder, leering. "You have to be crazy to be a ninja. We live our lives as hired guns, weapons that are expendable assets. Shinobi must be prepared to live for their people, or die for them. To serve, to protect and to kill, silently or soundly, that is the way of the shinobi."

"Apparently, a lot of ninja these days are starting to lose sight of that purpose," Kurenai commented, taking the cup of tea laid down for her by Tsunami and taking a sip. The woman continued pottering over the stove, making dinner for her family and their guests. "Ninja fight for the beliefs forced upon them, but I'm starting to see that this newer generation is starting to develop more, relinquishing those chains of rules that influence our actions."

"Naruto definitely shows promises of that," Zabuza stated, propping his head on his hand. "But sometimes I believe he knows more then he cares to let on to. He's always… wandering off to places… searching for something. I just don't know what…"

"Anko said something about his behavior, but she didn't go as far as to say that the boy had a rough childhood," Kurenai stated.

Zabuza grunted and looked back at Tazuna, seriousness etched on his masked expression. "Point being, old man… once your bridge is completed, you'll put that midget of a businessman out of a job in this area. Your land will return to being prosperous once more…"

"That's correct," Tazuna stated. "The bridge will become a symbol of courage to the people, who will rise up once more, and make this land great again. We will be able to throw Gatou out of our land with this bridge, and it will be a grand day, I know it!"

"What if that rat, Gatou, decides to take more extreme measures against you and your people," Zabuza began pointing out. "Why just target you? Why not blow up the bridge? That's a question I can't seem to answer."

"I'm wondering about that to," Kurenai said, looking at the old bridge builder, who was considering the questions being thrown his way. "Gatou is incredibly powerful, financially and economically. If he knows how vital this bridge is to the future of Wave Country, why doesn't he just destroy the very symbol threatening his business empire?"

"His business monopolization of this area revolves mostly around the shipping industry, it is vital for the branch of his company here. However, the shipping companies are run by not only his people, but by our people as well. In any attempt to blow up the bridge or attack it directly, a reaction induced from the villagers may be out of anger, and there will be blood in the streets. Without us, his whole operation in Wave dies, and if the bridge is blown and lives are lost because of it, he will become a wanted man. That is something a business man doesn't want; attention from the ninja nations because of a crime," Tazuna explained, looking up. "The man may be a monster, but he is smart. He controls people by breaking their willpower, and does so by making other people do his dirty work. The only way we can stop any bloodshed is by destroying his grip on us…and that is through this bridge."

"He can be traced back through any minor crimes, but the people solely responsible for the offenses will be the ones to get blamed, not him," Zabuza theorized. "I get it. While others suffer and receive punishment, he sits high up on his throne, safe, with many other lackeys surrounding him and protecting him."

"So you attack him where it hurts the most; economically," Kurenai said with a smile. "It's smart, I can give you that." Tazuna smiled at her, but then frowned and sighed, rubbing a hand over his brow and through his graying hair.

"The people of this land are suffering from poverty, and this bridge is the only way we can restore order. Relief will only come once this project is completed, and I will not stop till I see that bridge stretching from our coast to the Land of Fire!" Tazuna said. "Too many people have given their lives for this country, and many more have worked hard to see this dream come true. Gatou will not win…"

Zabuza sighed and got to his feet, wrenching his sword up and propping it on his shoulder. Kurenai watched as the ninja looked down at them, particularly towards Tazuna in an expression she recognized as sympathetic.

"Never giving up till the end… I like that!" Zabuza commented, with Tazuna looking at him in surprise. "You've got guts. It reminds me of my student, and the yellow haired brat…"

"Where is he now, anyway?" Tsunami asked from the stove, drawing the group's attention towards her. She nodded out the window, where she could distinctly make out three of the four youngsters that had come along with the convoy, sitting around the clearing. "Naruto isn't sitting out there with the others…"

"I'll go look for him," Kurenai sighed, getting to her feet. "Honestly… always running off like that…"

"Why don't you send one of your students instead?" Zabuza replied, gesturing out the window. "It'd be best. You still have a job to do after all…"

Kurenai, easily seeing the reason behind his words, nodded her head in agreement.

* * *

_**A little later…**_

_**Elsewhere…**_

Hinata was sent off to find Naruto, since she was the best tracker with her Byakugan on the group. Instructed just to bring him back for a team meeting, the purple haired member of Team 7 quickly made her way though the forest, scanning it along the way, before heading into town.

When she arrived at the port town, now succumbing to night, Hinata began wandering around in search of her friend and teammate. The sights of poverty stricken ruin sat around every corner, the streets not only filled with homeless adults, but also by children too. However, they seemed more cheerful, and Hinata was a little surprised when she saw groups of them running down an alleyway to some unknown location.

Curious, she followed them, taking her down more rundown pathways surrounded by slum like houses, before coming to a town square area, most likely a playing field for the children during the daytime. A river ran by, and all the children were gathered around it, a bit of a commotion rousing from the crowd. When Hinata approached it, she saw above the heads of the younger kids, Naruto sitting around a fire, making grilled fish kebabs, and handing sticks of his fried catch to the children. Everyone received one, and they all went to sit around the fireplace, spreading out and thinning the crowd.

Hinata watched on with a smile as she watched Naruto's kindness at work, and when it came down to the last kid, the blond noticed his teammate being the only one left standing. Blinking up at her from where he sat on his log, he then smiled and picked up one of the last dozen on the fireplace, and gave it to her. The Hyuuga blushed and took it, before taking a seat next to her companion and crush on the same log he was sitting on, being one of the three dozen children to have gathered around the area.

Under the shelter of night, illuminated by the warm glow of fire, Naruto and Hinata ate, and watched over the kids feasting around them. The boys and girls who did finish gathered around the blond, and sat or lay there, watching him, admiring the Good Samaritan that had fed them tonight.

Naruto sighed and looked up towards the sky, following the trail of cinders leaving the fire with the smoke. Hinata looked in his direction, noting the change in his mood.

"I never told anyone else this before, Hinata-chan… but I grew up in places like this," the blond said, looking down at his surprised teammate, his expression, though saddened, still holding a smile. "I grew up experiencing pain all my life, not being accepted or wanted by anyone, not knowing what it was like to have a family, or a home, or friends. I didn't even have parents to take care of me, or teach me anything. Because of that life I started in Konoha, I fled to the streets, living off whatever I could find, scrounge and beg. Because of the hatred I experienced months on, nonstop, I even ran away from Konoha. That was when I was barely even six years old. But even when I did run away, wherever I went, loneliness and pain continued to follow me. I was fighting for my life the moment I was born."

Hinata gazed into the boy's eyes, noticing the emptiness and the cold that he had shown many times before, behind his mask. However, she was seeing a completely new side to her friend, a completely new look. It was not one of suppressed anger an grief, it was one of immense hurt. He was crying on the inside.

"It was a year later I was found by Jiraiya, and for the first time ever, I actually had someone close to me who cared for me," Naruto replied, looking back to the fire and shifting the stick between his hands. "He taught me most of the things I know today, and told me a lot about my real family… whom I've never even met, or even knew. But… because they sacrificed themselves for my life, then I know they loved me more then I can even dream of." The boy sniffed and shook his head. "At least I know that my parents did love me…"

Hinata smiled at the boy, seeing him poke the fire with a stick, causing more sparks and cinders to fly. "But now you have more people who love you, Naruto-kun."

The whiskered boy looked at her, seeing her crystal clear eyes gazing at him lovingly, with the faint streak of red across her cheeks.

"T-They may not be your mom or dad, but those who love you…for the person that you are, t-they are family," Hinata stated. "We… we may not be related by blood, but if someone who loves you with all their heart, looks out for you, protects you and c-cares for you, you can consider them as kin by heart and soul…Naruto-kun."

The blonde shinobi blinked at his teammates brave and strong words, and smiled a half smile as his mind began registering to this new information. She returned his appreciative smile with a full smile of her own.

"You're right… Hinata-chan," Naruto exclaimed. The girl twiddled her fingers a bit, now feeling a bit flustered under his gaze, but in a good way. She looked at him from under her lowered gaze, and giggled as his smile turned into that handsome grin. "And I will protect my family and those I hold most dear to me, with my life…"

He reached out and wrapped an arm around her, pulling the Hyuuga heiress closer to him. Hinata smiled up at him fully, as she felt her body move into his.

"That's what my way of the ninja is telling me…and my heart…"

Hinata barely had time to respond when the blond leaned in a gently kissed her and gently kissed her on her lips. What followed shortly after several seconds of unregistering brain functions was a silent gasp against the boy's lips, widening eyes, and a flaring red face. Like a light, the girl went out. She fainted, and fell into the boy's embrace with a silent 'eep', and a smile on her face. Naruto, surprised at first, chuckled afterwards, and allowed the purple haired girl to nap on his lap.

"I-Is that true, Naruto-sir?" a young, brown haired girl sitting close to the boy asked, next to what looked to be her younger brother.

"Will you really protect those you care about most… with your life?" another child asked, this time a young boy on the other side of the fire. It was at this point Naruto saw that all the kids in the area were looking at him in admiration, and he grinned at all of them, and nodded his head affirmatively.

"It's only sensible," the blond exclaimed, resting a hand on Hinata's head, and caressing her as she slept. "If you truly have someone precious to you, someone you love or care for, a mother, a father, a brother, a sister, a friend… your kin… you would do anything to make them happy, and you would protect them if they were in danger."

"Is she a person precious to you, Mr Naruto?" another young boy asked.

The blond ninja didn't need even a second to think about it. Giving the child a smile, he looked down at the purple haired girl, and caressed his hand along her shoulder, as if comforting her.

"Yes… she is…"

* * *

_**Later that night…**_

Naruto eventually returned to Tazuna's home, carrying Hinata on his back who was still passed out, or sleeping peacefully. He had decided to take the main road home, since it was a beautiful night out, and he enjoyed the pleasant breeze of the cool, salty air on his face and the sight of the starry sky high above. True he got to see the night sky back home, but there was always light pollution blocking out a lot of the sky. Here in Wave Country, he had no problem seeing at all.

When he arrived up the road onto Tazuna's front porch, he found Kurenai waiting for him, leaning against the side of the house next to the entrance, arms folded. Zabuza was always waiting, sitting on the steps of the front porch, sword impaled in the ground and standing straight up. The moment the saw Naruto, Zabuza stood up, and Kurenai got off of her post.

"I know running off like that is normal for you, Naruto. But next time, tell me when you are going to run off like that again. You really had me worried, you know," Kurenai explained, watching as the boy climbed the stairs to the house, noticing Hinata lying fast asleep on his back with her head on his shoulder. Naruto smiled at her and stopped, Zabuza also stepping aside to let the boy through.

"Sorry, sensei. Next time I will," Naruto replied. Kurenai smiled back and nodded, allowing Naruto to pass.

As soon as the boy had disappeared into the home, and entered the living room where Team 7 would be bunking for the night, Kurenai glanced over at Zabuza, who was smiling under his mask and leaning on his sword. He shrugged his shoulders in amusement.

"Instead of your student bringing the missing brat back home, it turns out to be the other way around," Zabuza replied. "Apparently, Naruto-brat has become quite the ladies man…" Kurenai laughed out right, while turning to face the sword wielder fully, hands on her hips and a rather entertained look on her face.

"He's some ladies man, he even has my best friend trying to hit on him," Kurenai stated. She then raised a hand, beginning to count the girls by finger. "There are his two teammates, Sakura and Hinata, who really have developed something more then friendship with the boy, Asuma's student Ino also has a crush on him… or… more of an obsession from what I've been hearing, and there is also Princess Katsumi from the _Land of Bamboo Reeds._"

"He bagged a princess? (Whistles)" Zabuza jerked his head and nodded, clearing showing he was impressed through his body language. "I only ever had two girlfriends in my life, with two more that were more into all that blood and gore S&M crap, which was what attracted them to me in the first place from the stories they had heard." The swordsman visibly shook at the recurring images coming back to him. "They scared the hell out of me…"

Kurenai smirked. "Not a good line of girls, eh?"

"Well… not all of them… the other two were great though…" Zabuza replied, scratching his chin with his trigger finger as he looked up, thinking. "Haku seems to attract a lot of girls whenever we go to the hot springs… mainly because they think he's cute. To be honest, I don't really see it…"

The raven haired Jonin sighed and rubbed the side of her face. She had dealt with a lot of these people before, and she didn't want to deal with them again. First there was Anko, then the Hokage, Kakashi, and now this guy. This proved that even deadly, enemy ninja had their own problems.

"Well… I'm going inside to watch the kids…" the red-eyed woman stated, opening the door and looking back at Zabuza, who was still engrossed in his own little world of thought. "You should get some sleep too."

"Yeah, sure…"

After a while of watching, waiting, and making sure everything was in place, Kurenai went to bed, pitching up a sleeping bag next to Shino and dozing off. Shino was already asleep, lying there like a mummy with his glasses still on, staring up at the ceiling like he would if he were awake. Naruto had tucked Hinata away into her sleeping bag alongside the bug user, the girl smiling with her eyes closed and cheeks still red, her dreams filled with her spiky-blond, prince charming. Haku was also sleeping peacefully, on a pillow provided to him by Tsunami, and his robe as a blanket.

Things seemed to quite down once the lights in the house went out, with the sounds of crickets hiding in the grass outside being the only things making any noise for the rest of the night.

While everyone, including Tsunami and Inari were bunked down and out, this left only a couple of people still awake.

By candle light, sitting at the dining table, Tazuna was up and about, reading design plans and making calculations on the bridge. He had his design tools of the trade out, a pencil, sharpener, ruler, compass, geoliner, and a bottle of Iwa Sake on the side.

While he was working, calculating a faster way to speed up the process, he was suddenly interrupted by Zabuza coming to sit at the table next to him. Propping the sword up against the wall, the rogue ninja sat adjacent to the bridge builder, letting out a sigh as he undid the wrappings around his face. Tazuna watched him cautiously.

"Haha… don't worry. If I had wanted to kill you, I would have done so hours ago," the swordsman stated, letting the gauze falling away, revealing his chiseled face and shark like grin. "I don't want to though. You're a descent, hard working man with a family to take care of, and I would feel terrible taking an innocent life like that without a damn good reason."

"Thanks," Tazuna replied gruffly. Pulling out another glass, he poured some sake into it and pushed it towards the tall ninja. "Here… have some why don't yah."

"Appreciated…" Zabuza replied, taking the glass and sipping it. It was a sharp taste, and it definitely hit the spot when he consumed it. "Great sake! Iwagakure brand?"

"Yeah. I got it years ago when Wave was still a free country. Really hits you where you live," the old man exclaimed. Zabuza chuckled.

"A lot of the sake from Kirigakure has a salty taste, it tickles your nose."

"Well, this one tickles your appendix," Tazuna pointed out jokingly. He raised a glass to the man, which Zabuza did so to, both of them smiling. "To prosperity…"

"…and peace…" Zabuza added. The two grinned and chimed glasses together, before sculling it in one go. They put their glasses down, and both of them let out satisfied groans, Tazuna wiping his lips clean.

"Ahh… you know," the old man looked at Zabuza, who was now refilling his drink. "You're a pretty descent guy when you're not holding a sword."

"Don't get that many people around here, do you?" the swordsman asked.

"Well… not really. There is the occasional thief, and one of Gatou's goons. But definitely no one around here carries a giant butcher's knife with them, like you do," Tazuna acknowledged. "Back in the days, the days I want to bring back to this land, people solved their problems with a good elbow scrubbing and a coat of wax. We worked things out through favors and words. That's what made Wave so great, and also made it such a big, fat target on the map for companies looking to buy and sell!"

"A lot of Kirigakure's shipping went through here to," Zabuza said, nodding his head. "Our country had a lot of ships out on the ocean, with quite a few people having their sights set on the big countries. We did business with the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning, with the industry becoming a huge part of our economy…"

"Tell me about it," Tazuna said, smirking. "We depend on it. Soon, all of this evil and corruption will be all behind us when we set this country right, and it will all happen by the end of this week."

"And I will help you guys along with it," Zabuza said, holding his cup up to him. "I know I can't be of any more help, but I will help guard your back while you're working on the bridge…"

Tazuna smiled at the Jonin, and once again clanged glasses with him. "Thanks a bunch…" The two drank, and continued to enjoy the peace of mind they had while doing so.

While the two were chatting, they were joined by Naruto, the blond coming to sit on the opposite side of Zabuza. The boy looked tired, but he was far from it. Instead, the boy got himself a glass, and asking permission from Tazuna, then poured himself some. Although the old man wanted to object to the boy drinking at first, Zabuza said that the 'brat' was fine, and watched the blond drank his first glass.

"When you kill someone, you just want to forget," Naruto said, putting his glass down. He glanced up at his client, who was looking at him thoughtfully. Zabuza on the other hand, was now engrossed in his own drink, swirling it as he held it between both his hands on the table. "If you think I'm bluffing, I'll show you the bingo book I carry around with me…"

"Don't forget the scars on your body," Zabuza added, before glancing at Tazuna and nudging him in the arm. "You should see the one on his chest… that one is nasty…"

Naruto sighed and played with his drink, looking into the ripples on the surface of the alcoholic draft, and the reflection that looked right back at him. "(Sigh)… Though I am happy to have friends I can depend on, protect, and whom I can fight alongside with, no matter how hard I try, I still have demons in the shadows chasing after the one I have inside of me." The blond looked up at Tazuna and shrugged his shoulders. "Until I find _what_ and _who_ I am looking for, only then I can sleep easy."

"That's the only reason you continue to put on that mask, and masquerade as the shadow less ninja," Zabuza said, looking at the boy dead in the eyes when he turned to look at him. "Opposite your life you share with your friends, your teachers, and the rest of Konohagakure, there's another life you live…"

Naruto nodded. "I'm trying to write all the wrongs in my life with what I do," the boy stated, without a hint of hesitation whatsoever. "I can ignore it all I want, but I am the jinchuriki of the Nine Tailed Fox after all, and because of it, I have great responsibilities. I was given it for a reason…"

"Any luck finding my shark-faced partner?" Zabuza asked.

"No…" Naruto replied, balling his fists tightly. He gritted his teeth angrily. "Every time I get close to those black cloaked freaks… they always manage to slip away!"

"You know you're not strong enough to even last five minutes against one of those guys?" Zabuza stated, giving the boy's angered look a quick go over, and quickly easing in his advice. "Kisame alone is incredibly powerful. If he wanted to, he could kill all the other members of the _Seven Ninja Swordsmen_ combined, and you're thinking of going after him."

"Not just him… the others as well," Naruto replied, "When he and his partner Itachi confronted me a couple years back, they made it perfectly clear that they are after the Tailed Beast inside of me. Their organization… their group called _Akatsuki_, are after the other hosts as well. I need to find out what their plans are, so we can stop them."

"You can't do it alone kid," Zabuza said, raising an eyebrow at him. "But why are you looking for Kisame, specifically?"

"I've got beef with that guy," the blond simply said. "The last time encountered him; he chopped off my left leg. Thankfully, I was saved by Ero-Sennin, and Baa-chan was able to reattach my limb. Now all I've got as a reminder of that day is a big ugly scar where the cut was made. Point being, Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki are my only real problem. If I can take them out, then I can consider most of my problems over and done with."

Naruto reached into his jacket, after a few seconds of rummaging, pulled out a book. Zabuza recognized it as a bingo book, and under the candle light, he saw it was crammed with leaflets, bookmarks and notes crammed in between the pages. When the blond opened it, the swordsmen also saw it had notes scribbled all over it, marking describing weak points and pinpointing things more accurately. He also saw lists of techniques, and a whole lot of strategies and calculations the boy had been working on.

Naruto flipped through the pages in his bingo book, and while doing so, he spoke. "Ero-Sennin and my dad carried bingo books just like this one, and wrote down everything new that they found out and researched. I started my own bingo book two years ago. It may not be as elaborate as theirs, but it helps me keep track with where I'm at." He flipped it open to a split page, showing Uchiha Itachi on one and Kisame Hoshigaki on the other. It was riddled with ink and pen markings. "What I want is Kisame's Samehada destroyed, and Itachi Uchiha's Sharingan neutralized. That's one of my goals."

"Well… that's understandable…" Zabuza murmured, leaning over to get a better look. On Itachi's page, he saw that Naruto had sketched a version of the Uchiha's Sharingan, next to a completely different one which looked like a three-pronged shuriken.

"The _Mangekyo Sharingan_ of the famed Uchiha Clan. That is the biggest challenge for me. After fighting Itachi the first time, I learnt never to look a Sharingan user in the eye when in combat, because that's how they get you with their Genjutsu," Naruto stated, looking up at Zabuza, who was now listening intently. "I also found out that without their precious eyes, the Uchiha wouldn't be able to perform half of the jutsu that they know, because they depend on it so much. It not only provides them with extended vision, ability to copy ninjutsu, and neutralize different forms of ninjutsu, genjutsu and taijutsu, but also increases their reflexes substantially. When using the Sharingan, it increases their fighting prowess ten fold, which is why without the handicap of the Sharingan, they are blind…"

"You've really thought this over, haven't you kid?" Tazuna commented, paying more attention now to his bridge work.

"I've been studying," Naruto stated, smirking. "I learned this much from first encounters, as well as Ero-Sennin teaching me the basics of the techniques. Itachi Uchiha used it on me the moment I looked him in the eyes, and after he paralyzed me with that damned Genjutsu, Kisame proceeded to slice my limbs off so I wouldn't get away. Thankfully, I was saved."

Zabuza reached over and took the book from the boy, and also studied the pages. He moved back to the front and began moving through it, Naruto refilling his sake glass and sipping quietly as he watched the swordsman read.

"I've got a lot of information in there, and I've got copies at home," the blond stated. "You'll also notice my personal mark. On the pages with the red line across them, those are the ninja I've killed. The ones with the X in the corner are targets. That is the only copy I've marked…"

"You've got a lot of pages without your marks though," Zabuza commented, moving from one page to another. "However, you seem to have iced a lot of missing-nin even remotely associated to the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and Akatsuki. Heh… you even got Danzo… he must have been tough…"

"I got him by surprise," Naruto replied, gesturing to the page he was looking at. "He had information related to Orochimaru in his office when I went out searching for answers on his whereabouts, and after some more digging, I eventually decided to take him out of the equation. Anything on Akatsuki connected to the Snake Sannin goes cold, since I discovered he left the group about a year ago. I also found out that any traces leading to group have been wiped from the records. Plus, the only members I know from that organization are Itachi, Kisame, former member Orochimaru, and Sasori. I have no idea who the leader is."

"You've highlighted the deceased ninja in this book who you haven't killed as well. That's handy…" Zabuza added, flipping quickly through the pages now. "The one's you have killed though: Jiga, Ruiga, Hisame, Murasame… Suien… you got _Suien_ as well? Impressive. You also killed Shura, incapacitated Monju… Toki was buried, which is what you wrote in here…oh, you even got Aoi Rokusho? Who would want that ninja on their forces?"

"I got the sword he had back… well… broken anyway…" Naruto replied, laughing and rubbing the back of his head. "Oji-san was _not_ pleased with that at all…"

"You've crossed out planning on going after Orochimaru?" Zabuza queried. He closed the book and slid it over to Naruto. "That's a little odd."

"He's Jiraiya's quarry… not mine," Naruto replied.

"Well… here's to a better future," the swordsman exclaimed, raising his glass to the boy. Naruto did so as well, and clanged glasses with him. "Maybe I'll help you out on this private mission of yours, for old-times sake, and Haku too. He'd be glad to help out a friend."

"Thanks a bunch, Zabuza."

With that, the two drank, and for the rest of the night, they talked, shared stories, and had a good time. All the while, they were thinking about how the events of the present were going to unfold, and what plans Gatou had in store for the bridge.

* * *

_**The next morning…**_

Tazuna had fallen asleep at the kitchen table again, and Tsunami was a little flustered he didn't go to bed properly, since sleeping on the chair was bad for his health. She instead let him doze for a bit and went on to making breakfast. She had also noticed Zabuza had fallen asleep kneeling in the corner with his sword propped up against his shoulder. As a ninja, he was accustomed to sleeping in all sorts of peculiar places, and his sharp senses even while unconscious told him that a person of the household was up and about.

Naruto, meanwhile, had taken the liberty of cleaning up the drinks, and putting away Tazuna's bottle of sake. When Tsunami walked in, she saw that he was still awake, and writing in his personal journal. Though she didn't know what he was doing, the blue haired woman knew he was working hard, and merely said a good morning before moving n to making breakfast.

The blond bit his bottom lip as he looked over the list of Akatsuki and 'suspected' Akatsuki associated he had made, before crossing out a random name, dropping his pen next to the unfolded paper extracted from his book.

"_Damn… this is not going to work. It'll take me another three or so years of training before I'm ready to face any of these guys,"_ Naruto thought angrily. _"Itachi is a former ANBU shinobi of Konohagakure, an exceptional prodigy of unmatched skills, with a holder of a record of missions completed without fail! He was also capable of killing his entire clan in a single night, including the clans' security forces! Kisame Hoshigaki is no different, having completed over a hundred S-Class missions, was a personal aid to the former Mizukage of Kirigakure, and is at least five times stronger then Zabuza!"_ The blond looked over at Zabuza, who was snoring away in the corner with a bubble seen forming at the end of his nose, inflating and deflating with every breath.

"Hm…mmm…y-yes…uhh… put the coffee…on the table…" he mumbled.

"_Although how he ever retained his position as one of Kirigakure's finest shinobi I'll never know," _Naruto thought when he heard this, before looking back down at his sheet. He growled at it and folded it up, shoving it back into his book and slamming it shut. _"Information on Sasori is limited, but I know he is a genuine member, and Orochimaru… well… there's just too much chatter around him to even matter."_

Pocketing his book, Naruto got up off of the table and went over to help Tsunami with breakfast. Even though the woman insisted she make it, she eventually gave in to the boy's pleading look and allowed him to help her. By the time breakfast was ready, Haku and Shino were up, with Hinata following soon after. As soon as all three sat down around the table, Tazuna awoke with a start, jabbering and almost losing his glasses.

Picking up his things from the table, the bridge builder went to put them away with the rest of his materials, before rejoining everyone else at his old seat.

"So… did everyone have a good sleep?" he asked.

"Very peaceful," Shino said, voice monotone as ever.

"L-Lovely," Hinata exclaimed, smiling up at the old man. "You can never r-really experience a good night's sleep like that back in the village…"

"I thought it was very pleasant," Haku said, before glancing over at Shino across from him. "It's a welcome change to sleeping outdoors."

Shino nodded in his direction. It was then the unmasked by noticed his sensei was still snoozing in the corner, and shook his head in amusement when he saw the swordsman twitch and snort. Hinata and Shino also noticed Zabuza sleeping in the corner, and both of them wondered how he was able to sleep like that comfortably. Of course, they were soon able to find out the reality of sleeping like that when Kurenai came into the room, and seeing the swordsman head-down in the corner, sighed and walked up to him, kicking him in the leg.

"Hey… good morning," Kurenai exclaimed, scratching her ruffled up hair. She had slept in her uniform that night, and she also got unusual bed-hair from her turning in her pillow. It was more wild and un-groomed, but no one really took much notice of it.

Zabuza woke with a start and hit his head against the wall. "OWWW! MY HEAD!" Using his sword, he pushed himself to his feet, only to hear another crack, and feel the effects a second later. "OWWW! MY BACK!" Groaning and crippled from his sleep, he trudged over to the table and pulled up a chair, sitting in it.

"You've got to stop sleeping like that, Zabuza-sama," Haku exclaimed, smiling at the tall swordsman. "If you keep doing that, your spine will be bent out of shape, and even I can't fix that…" The Jonin waved a hand at the boy and sighed, straightening his back, and hearing anther series of light cracks from it as he readjusted his posture.

"Just get me a stool to sit on instead and a torture machine that stretches you out, and I'll be fine," Zabuza groaned. He then looked over at Tsunami, who walked over to the group with breakfast ready to be served, rice with a side of fish and fruit salad. "Do you have any milk I can drink?"

Tsunami smiled at him. "Sure… just wait a moment…" She quickly moved over to the fridge next to the stove, fumbled around it for a moment, before coming up with a bottle. Pouring a glass, she then gave it to Zabuza, who smiled in gratitude. "Here you go…"

"Thanks a million," he replied, and immediately drank it down half-way. The cool refreshment was a welcome change to his digestive system, and he answered this with a sigh of satisfaction. "Man… two months without milk kills you…"

"So… what are your plans for today?" Tazuna asked from where he sat, as he served himself from the dishes Tsunami laid out for the group. Naruto served Hinata and Haku, and proceeded to get some for Kurenai.

"Well, I think today we'll break it up a little. If you're going off to continue work on the bridge, I'll have a couple of my students accompany you, while another half of the team can stay here and watch over the household, and perhaps catch up with some training," Kurenai said, turning to the Genin sitting around the table and beginning to eat. "Under the new conditions enforced by the Hokage, I'm encouraged to train you guys as much as I can for the days ahead."

"Fine by me," Shino replied, getting a taste of the sauce mixed in with the fish. "Boy, this stuff is good…"

"I'll also go to the bridge," Zabuza said, cracking his neck a little. "I'd like to soak up a little bit of the culture around here, and maybe lend a hand with the heavy work…"

"I can live with that," Kurenai replied, lacing her fingers together, and watching as Naruto sat beside Shino to join in the feast. The blond enthusiastically dug in, while listening to what their team leader had to say. "Naruto can stay behind with Hinata and Haku, while Shino and I will escort you today…"

"That's good," Tsunami exclaimed, while attending to cleaning up the kitchen desk area. "You guys can hang around with my son. Maybe you can convince him to go outside and play around for a bit…"

"Okay. Then I guess we've got no problems here…" Tazuna said, throwing his hands out. He then slapped them together and rubbed them. "Tuck in everyone!"

* * *

_**The day unfolded**_ just as Kurenai had planned, with Team 7's force divided in two to better protect their client and his family. The young Jonin figured that in light of the new events that have transpired over the course of the last 24 hours, and from all the information she was able to collect from both Tazuna and Zabuza, the situation called for more team oriented measures. She knew that she could count on Naruto and Hinata to baby sit, and that they could protect their client's daughter and grandson. She had also come to trust Zabuza more, as well as his student, as they had had plenty of time to kill their client, but didn't, and that showed her a lot.

She also believed more in her students' words, and took their opinions to heart and consideration. They were growing up fast, and so far, she had a great report to submit to the Hokage.

While Kurenai, Zabuza and Shino escorted Tazuna through the village, at the same time getting an even greater perspective of the effects Gatou was having on the country, Naruto, Hinata and Haku remained at the house, helping Tsunami with her chores, and taking on guard duty outside.

In the next couple of hours that passed, Naruto and Hinata were able to get down to some comrade-to-comrade training, with Haku watching from the sidelines of the front porch. He first watched the two of them do a lot of strenuous exercises together, as well as chakra control, with the two of them sharing tips and learning a bit more as they went along. Afterwards, they both got down to some good, old-fashioned sparring.

The two of them exchanged blows across the clearing of the front yard, Hinata using her Clan's famed _Gentle Fist_ style enhanced with her chakra to tackle on Naruto, who returned her blows using Wing Chun style, which he learned from Shizune. He took on the Hyuuga Genin's blows with seemingly effortless ease, movement and grace. The girl skidded back from a particular counter which had her blows nullified by the boy, and gritting her teeth, she lunged at him, attacking with flash like blows.

Naruto wasted no movement, blocking and moving back to avoid her first onslaught of punches, before suddenly pivoting and ducking low under a hook, in slow motion, sliding right under her attack. Hinata spun around and returned it with a round house kick, cutting through the air with great speed. Naruto blocked her kicked and returned it with a quick jab, spinning it with the aid of chakra to increase its momentum. Hinata, learning from experience, knocked it aside and struck below his arm, knocking it upwards and attempting to attack with chakra point blows.

But the blond had other tricks up his sleeve, and with a smile, blocked her first series of punches and strikes, before catching her left palm strike and curving his arm around hers. With a quick precision he managed to knock her arm down and then steal a blow to her stomach, knocking her back, staggered.

Hinata became winded from the swift hit, and she collapsed to the ground, gasping. Shaking her head off, she glared up at Naruto, seeing him take a regular stance and holding his hand out, also glaring down at her.

"Great, Hinata…" he commented.

Huffing, the girl wiped her face down on her sleeve, and stood up. When she did, she activated the Byakugan in her left eye, now beginning to take the spar a bit more seriously.

Resuming her regular stance once again, the girl shifted around, trying to find her opponent's blind spot. When she did, she charged in, taking Naruto on his right. The blond responded, quickly moving into to defend Hinata's blows as they came in, and he watched as blue streams of air coursed around each of her blows, from her hands, down her wrists, to her legs.

The blond backed away slowly, mostly using his hands and dodging when need be as the purple haired girl advanced on him. While he fought with a stoic expression, his comrade fought with seriousness burning in her eyes, and a grunt escaped her lips as she attacked with precise fury.

Naruto yielded to her attacks, yet remained in his stance like a bamboo, deflecting and redirecting Hinata's attacks. He attacked and defended from his center line, combining his strong defense with quick grappling techniques and threw off Hinata's attacks. From her Byakugan, she began analyzing the blond's style more closely in their battle, and proceeded to pressure his weak points. However, because Naruto was so adept at multiple attacks, as he had learned so much himself using his clone jutsu, he continued to hold up a strong base of defense.

Hinata spun in with a quick series of Gentle Fist strikes, are particular palm strike hitting Naruto as he spun his arm around his chest and struck him against his forearm, sort of staggering him. She then brought both her hands back and with a yell, thrust forward, only to meet a quick block, her arm batted aside by an elbow, followed by a palm strike to her shoulder, and then another to her chest, knocking her back. Stepping back for space, the Hyuuga then fell to her knee, catching her breath.

She looked up at her opponent, seeing him approach her and offer a hand to her.

"Perhaps I should introduce you to the _wooden man_, Hinata-chan," Naruto exclaimed happily, earning a surprised look from the Hyuuga. "Your Gentle Fist style bares a lot of similarities to my Wing Chun style. Maybe I can show you a bit more of my training in close-combat to improve your style and your speed." Hinata, considering his words, dropped her Byakugan in her left eye and accepted his hand. The boy pulled her to her feet, and she fell into his caring embrace. "The faster your strikes in taijutsu, the more chances you have in beating your opponent with the number of hits you can land. If you can counter their strikes and resist their attacks firmly, while protecting your center, then I can guarantee you will have an awesome Gentle Fist style…"

Hinata beamed. "Really…Naruto-kun?" The blond nodded, before taking the initiative to his statement as promised. Quickly, he ran around the area collecting some wood, and with some help from a series of rope, a kunai and a hammer, was able to create a wooden dummy similar to the one Shizune introduced him to.

For the rest of the day Naruto trained Hinata with use of the dummy, and taught her a series of grappling and useful precision attacks while doing so. He also taught her how to keep a firmer stance, and remain rooted yet yielding at the same time. This went on for a lot of the hours, the Hyuuga determined to increase her strength and fighting prowess to match her comrade's. Haku also got into the training a bit, sitting down with Naruto and teaching him more about hand seals, as well as his one handed ones, which the blond desperately wanted to learn.

By the time Tazuna and his group returned to the household, it was already late in afternoon. That night, Team 7 went to bed satisfied with the day's proceedings, Naruto once again keeping watch for the second night in the row. Kurenai also stayed up for that night, while Zabuza went to sleep on the couch.

While Naruto was up on the roof, looking up at the stars and marveling at the vastness of the pen sky, Kurenai joined him, and the two of them just sat there, star gazing.

"You don't sleep that often, do you?" Kurenai asked, looking at the boy as he stared upwards, lying back a bit against the angle of the roof.

"I have nightmares…" Naruto replied, looking down and over the ocean's surface, with night sky reflecting off of the calm blue. "Every so often, I would first think about my earliest days in Konohagakure, when I started living in my apartment. I was harassed by the kids, shunned away, and sometimes attacked by the adults. Then I remembered living on the streets like the children here, cold, alone, hiding and begging. Because of this…I was always alone… and that always haunted me in my dreams…"

Kurenai nodded her head in understand. She reached out and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, causing the blond to look in her direction, showing just how tired he really was. Not from lack of sleep, but from years of torment.

"I know what you've been through," Kurenai said softly. "Anko told me. A lot of her friends wanted to keep an eye on you, making sure that you were safe. But a lot of us were called away on missions for most of the time, and couldn't do so. But…then…"

"I ran away," Naruto simply said, lowering his head while bringing both knees up to him, folding his arms on top and resting his head on them. "It doesn't matter now though, I just have to deal with it…"

"That's what ninja do," Kurenai replied, raising an eyebrow at him. "But just because you can take in the pain, and hold onto it, it doesn't make you strong. If you can endure everything that is thrown at you, and keep getting up every time you are knocked down… that is strength."

Naruto smiled, letting out a sigh. "I have to do that, huh?" He then looked up at the woman, his expression becoming a bit curious. "Hinata-chan? She's been through a lot like I have… hasn't she?" Kurenai couldn't deny him this answer, and simply nodded her head.

"Apparently everyone in Konoha has issues," the woman said, shrugging her shoulders. "The pain of losing someone, the pain of being alone, excluded by friends, family members, ridiculed for being different… even tormented over clan politics. Hinata's father, Hiashi Hyuuga… he wanted the clan to have a strong leader from the main family, something the clan has been doing for years and years. Hinata, being his daughter, made her the heiress to the Hyuuga clan and next in line. However…well…"

"I see…" Naruto mumbled, letting out a sigh. "He thought Hinata was weak… and I can only guess…he started shining more attention over the next in line… the younger daughter…"

"Yes. When he said he had no more use for her; he gave her to me…" Kurenai said. "She would have lived a life exactly along side yours if I hadn't offered to take care of her."

"What Hiashi doesn't realize is that she is much stronger then he can ever imagine," Naruto said affirmatively, showing absolute confidence in his teammate. "I have never seen anyone work so hard before. She is strong, kind, caring and considerate, and she never gives up, no matter what."

"Kind of reminds me of someone," Kurenai exclaimed, looking down at the boy. Naruto blushed and hid his face a bit, earning a giggle from the older woman. "She really loves you, Naruto. She idolizes you and looks up to you, wanting to follow in your footsteps. The day she met you in the academy, a person who shared the same drive to prove their worth to the world and become stronger, I noticed that she started training just as hard, to meet you halfway…"

The two sat in silence for a moment, with Naruto contemplating the words Kurenai had given him. For a while, the only sounds that could be heard were the waves, and the music of crickets drifting over the night air. After readjusting his sitting position again, Naruto just let out a sigh and smiled.

"I'm glad she's my teammate…"

"And I'm glad she's found someone to be with…" Kurenai added, smiling at the blond. Naruto grinned back, and for the rest of that night, they stayed there.

Little did the pair know was that Inari had been awake and sitting by his window, also looking out over the ocean. When he heard what Naruto had to say, the boy felt a little bad for judging him too soon, and looked down shamefully. With a saddened expression, the youngster ducked back into his room, and closed the windows.

* * *

_**The next day **_things continued to proceed smoothly as usual. This time, Naruto and Hinata took up guard duty over Tazuna along with Haku, while Kurenai, Zabuza and Shino watched over his family. When Tazuna's group arrived at the bridge, they immediately set to work. With the few workers they had on hand, their schedule was all blocked up, and everyone was in haste to get the project finished. Naruto and Hinata even helped out, moving the metal frames and bars, as well as helping lay the cement. Haku helped with the support beams down a level, making sure everything was in place. Of course, Tazuna was concerned that the kids were helping out a little too much, exceeding their orders, but they said they didn't mind.

Meanwhile, Kurenai altered between training Shino, and talking with Zabuza. There was even one point where the three of them sat around a table and played Chinese checkers and poker. For some strange reason, Zabuza kept losing against Shino because of his awesome poker face.

Some time around lunch, while Naruto was sitting on a stack of bricks, resting with Haku, they were confronted by an unexpected guest to the worksite. As tit turns out, Inari had come down to the coast with Shino to visit his grandpa, and bring him some sandwiches for a snack. When the boy noticed Naruto and Haku sitting on the sidelines, a little dirty from helping with some of the work, the boy decided to approach them.

When he did, he just stood there looking at his feet, until Naruto and his friend noticed him. The blond looked over the kid for a moment, before temporarily setting aside the conversation he was having with Haku, and turning his attention to Inari.

"Hey… what's up?"

"Umm… uhh…" Inari was hesitant at first, but then mustered up the confidence to look the boy in the eye. "I-I'm sorry about what happened… when I first saw you… telling you to leave and stuff. It was bad…"

Naruto blinked, listening to what the bridge builder's grandson had to say. Afterwards, the blond smile and shuffled forward a bit, reaching out and patting him on the head. Inari looked at him, still feeling a little discouraged.

"I know what you've been through here," Naruto exclaimed, smiling. "We all have to be strong if we want to beat these times. Whenever we get knocked down, we get back up, never giving up." The blond nudged the boy a little, grinning, while watching as Inari smiled at him slightly. "You're tough, Inari. I know you'll do great things for the future of this land, and its people."

It was this comment that had Inari grinning wildly. The two of them laughed, with Haku smiling on the sidelines.

It was a pretty great day…

* * *

_**Things seemed**_ to be going great on the forth day, with the days earlier pretty much going on as usual, as per routine. Tazuna's workers were excited now, with the prospects of the bridge being completed. They could easily see the Land of Fire's coast line from left to right, the bridge now just about fifty meters or so away from the cliffs. They were so close to completion. All it took now was to align the bridge with the edge of the cliff, and make sure to lead into it properly. Everything was holding up nicely so far, and they were a day or so away from finishing.

Kurenai felt it was best today to have everyone go down to the bridge for the closing moments of construction. She had this funny feeling that Gatou has not given up on his plans to destroy Tazuna's project, or the man himself, and would throw down the trick card he had up his sleeve on this very day to see that the bridge didn't even touch the Land of Fire. Even Zabuza felt a cold change in the air.

With the sun out, the sky so clear and the air cool and fresh, something was just not right. The day was too perfect. So, believing it to be the best course of action, Kurenai instructed the whole of Team 7 to move out, with Naruto leaving a dozen or so clones around the house to watch it and along with Zabuza and Haku, the group moved out. Inari saw the off, and later headed on inside to help his mum with the dishes.

The trip was uneventful as usual, with Naruto and Haku catching up still, with Hinata and Shino also joining in. Things seemed to go perfectly, with the quick detour through town receiving praises and wishes from some of the citizens, hoping that everything would go well.

However, when Naruto and everyone else got to the end of the bridge where the construction was, they received a rather unpleasant shock.

"Well, well… I see you rats made it!" a croaky voice exclaimed from the end of the bridge, dressed smartly in a suit and walking stick in hand. The glasses, frizzy brown hair, and thin mustache and goatee did not go unnoticed, with Tazuna fuming under his hard hat.

"You!"

"Yes… it's me," Gatou exclaimed, stepping forward. Behind him, where all the construction was going supposed to be going on, now closed down and barricaded, the corrupted businessman had obviously not come alone.

Behind him stood a dozen or so lackeys, a crowd of hired mercenaries who looked nothing like ninja or could even hold their own against one, dressed in shabby clothes and armed with all sorts of weapons. Team 7, now on their toes at the sight of the opposing crew, counted out knives, swords, scythes, spears and other weapons of all kinds, bared menacingly in their direction, and flanking their client. Gatou seemed particularly pleased at the turn out, and was not at all surprised to see Zabuza and Haku with his target.

"You've been busy, Tazuna," Gatou spoke up, shouting over the fifty meter spread distance between him and Team 7. "Not only have you hired ninja to protect you, but you've also managed to buy over the ones that I had hired to kill you!" Zabuza frowned, glaring angrily at the midget, with Haku frowning and slipping his mask over his face, knowing full well that a confrontation was about to erupt into a battle. "I'm disappointed Zabuza… you had so much promise! I only assumed with your reputation and everything, you would at least be good at what you did…_**Demon of the Hidden Mist**_! Don't make me laugh!"

The chuckles and taunts that came from the crowd behind him enforced his cynical statement.

"Don't mock me, little man!" Zabuza growled, reaching over and grabbing his sword's handle, eyes not leaving his target. Naruto, Shino and Hinata stepped forward, spreading out in front of Tazuna and Kurenai, and readying themselves for a fight. Gatou laughed at the small display of resistance.

"But, I guess I don't have to rely on you anymore!" the glasses wearing corporate owner jeered. "I never liked you anyway! You were too expensive! These guys however… they're cheap! They can settle for less!"

"You think that these nobodies can defeat a group of fully armed and trained shinobi?" Kurenai called out, also getting into the confrontation. "You're sorely underestimating our abilities if you think a group of thugs can take us down. Take off now, Gatou… so we don't have to cause any unnecessary deaths! Particularly yours!"

"Oooh… I'm shaking in my boots," Gatou returned mockingly. "Fortunately for me, I came prepared for this situation. I predicted the famed Zabuza Momochi would fail one way or another, so I opted to go for more practiced hands!" The man said this while looking down at his hands, checking his fingernails in a bored and overly confident manner. "Of course, this other shinobi I hired was much more affordable then your group, and was more than happy to come on down here to help me out! Plus…I like his style…"

"Shut up, small fry!" Zabuza shouted, bringing his sword around and holding it out with two hands. Stepping forward, he gently shoved by Haku and Naruto, now moving to the front of the pack. "I have taken on hundreds of shinobi, and killed them without fail! Once I deal with your _new_ meat, I'll personally deal with you!"

Gatou smirked. "Then please… do your worst…"

"Your funeral!" Zabuza grunted, taking a stance. Haku leapt forward, slipping past his master and bringing his hand up, senbon at the ready.

"Allow me… Zabuza-sama!" the boy stated while glaring through the small slits of his mask. "This man has insulted you, and stained your good name. It will be my honor to slay him in your stead!"

"Go ahead, Haku… make it painful," the swordsman exclaimed.

Grunting, Haku shot forward, sprinting across the fifty meters in a matter of seconds. Gatou smirked and watched the masked boy charge. Just before he could get anxious at the proximity, and Haku was just within accurate enough throwing distance, his foot suddenly pressed down on a less then solid surface, and the teen ninja only had a split second's glance to see what he had stepped on, before he was engulfed in a massive explosion. A column of fire erupted from the bridge's surface up from where he stood, barley grazing Gatou with the force of the explosion and staggering him back a little.

Team 7 watched in shock as the explosion skyrocketed, the blast hitting them like a gust of wind, and nearly knocking Tazuna's hat off of his head. Naruto stepped forward, but Zabuza beat him to the punch line.

"HAKU!"

"Oh no…" Hinata shouted. Activating her Byakugan, she looked in through the smoke of the blast, as the fire and debris died down and fell back down to earth, and over the sides of the bridge. Through her chakra enhanced vision, the girl scanned the area for any trace of their companion, and eventually found it when unexpectedly, an ice mirror formed in front of them, and Haku staggered out. Falling forward, Shino caught him and lowered the older boy to the ground, his gi torn up a little, half his mask cracked, and skin scorched a little.

"He's alright…" Shino said, Zabuza walked towards his student and knelt down, also seeing to his wounds. Tazuna was worried for the boy, but then also became concerned for their safety, as that blast had just punched a hole in their bridge.

However, they didn't have much time to get to work on Haku's wounds, when Hinata spotted something emerging from the smoke.

"Guys! I…I see someone…" Hinata shouted, eyes widening. "H-His chakra is huge!"

Kurenai and everyone else looked in the direction of the construction end of the bridge, and from the smoke rising from the middle of the structure; they saw a shadow step into view, approaching them. Gatou grinned as he watched his man of action get to work.

From where they stood, Team 7 saw that the newcomer to the battlefield had long blond hair in a high ponytail, a mass of hair covering the left side of his face. He also wore dark blue pants and black sandals, a dark blue vest with ninja mesh sleeves and a purple coat with extra long sleeves going over his concealed hands. The face hidden under the yellow hair, bared a menacing grin, black rings around blue eyes, and had a headband covering his forehead, clearly showing the Iwagakure symbol, with a scratch drawn across it.

"Fine art is the beauty of that single fleeting moment we experience…hmm," the man spoke up raising both of his hands, one of them coming around, and brushing the hair out of his face, his grin still worn enthusiastically. When he opened his palms and flashed his hands, he shocked the group of shinobi glaring him down that he had mouths on his hands, both of which opened and stuck out their tongues.

"Hmph. You fools will succumb to the beauty of my art! The sheer magnificence will make your heart quake, cower in awe, and recoil in despair! Because true art…IS AN EXPLOSION!"

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	18. Going Out With a Bang

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Going Out with a Bang_

It took Naruto and the others only a split second to react to the new threat that had arrived on the bridge. Without a second thought, Zabuza picked up his sword and threw himself down the structure, charging head long towards the blond haired freak with the mouths on the faces of his palms. He swung his sword back, his sprint covering a relatively long distance in just a short period of time.

Deidara grinned, the mouths on his open hands opening wide as he shoved them into the two large bags on either side of his belt. His arms rummaged for the contents.

"Ho! You first then, hmm?"

In a blink of an eye, the man withdrew his hands and clenching fists, held them back, before throwing them forward and crossing them over. Two bursts of smoke shot forth from his enclosed hands, before two four more objects shot out a second later. The white projectiles spun and unfolded in mid-flight, revealed to be small, artificially made birds, each about the size of a robin, each of them hurling themselves at the charging swordsman.

This all happened in a span of about ten seconds, with Zabuza spotting the immediate danger.

"Watch out, Zabuza!" Naruto shouted from where he knelt by Haku's side, who was being tended to be Sakura. The masked boy was already recovering from the exploding mine. "That man uses explosives to attack from a distance!"

"E-Each of those birds are loaded with compressed ch-chakra!" Hinata also yelled, Byakugan active.

The swordsman swung his sword out, slicing two of the abseiling birds in half with one, accurate swing, the halves flying past him. The other two birds however honed in on target. Deidara slapped his hands together, and then formed a hand seal.

"KATSU!"

_**BOOOM!**_

The clay birds detonated with resonating succession, the blasts ricocheting off of the sturdy bridge, but not in the least upsetting its foundation. This was also shown in the mine that had punched a gaping hole through its walkway, which did not affect the structure at all.

Its strength matched that of the people defending it…

The fiery smoke consumed Zabuza, and it was unknown what had happened to him until he came barrel-rolling out of the cloud. Deidara grinned at the sight of his slightly scolded opponent, who leapt back to his feet immediately after the roll and continued his charge, unhindered.

"Hahaha! Not bad! I expected nothing less from a ninja of your caliber!" Deidara exclaimed, clapping his hands together and tightening them, the mouths interlocking and exchanging protein-clay, enhancing its potency and quickly setting, ready for use. "Zabuza Momochi… prefers direct attacks to long range… specializes in the Hidden Mist Jutsu! This is easily countered…"

Immediately upon separating his hands, elastic like clay became stretched between the two mouths as they parted. As Zabuza continued his charge, coming within ten meters of his opponent, Deidara began flinging his hands outwards in circular motion, feeding the clay between his hands and ringing it out like ramen noodles being made. After refining the clay through quick hand movements, so that it became thick and stringy, the blond grinned and flung it out, striking the swordsman when he was in striking distance and catching him in the shoulder. The clay stretched and spun around the man, the dense material entangling him and almost consuming him.

Deidara flung his arms out before clapping them together into a hand seal, the swordsman struggling against the white, muddy bonds now beginning to swallow him, almost in a possessive manner as it bubbled and grew in size. He was now stopped in his tracks, at a five meter distance from his target, and being eaten by clay.

"C1 Clay Monster!" Deidara said, grinning. "If the pressure from it doesn't kill you, the explosion afterwards will! Hmm…"

However, just before the mad bomber could proceed with his next move, and just as Zabuza was almost completely swallowed up by the clay, Deidara detected another presence. His eyes widened when he sensed a person behind him, and glanced behind him just in time to see Kurenai right behind him, kunai drawn and ready to strike. Everything seemed to slow down from him in that instance.

"You're done…" Kurenai said, before driving the kunai straight into his back. Deidara arched back and yelled out in agony from the attack, blood spurting from his mouth and flying outwards in a spray.

However, when the raven haired Jonin thought it was all over, she suddenly received a shocking realization.

Blood was not white…

She looked up at her foe in shock to see a grinning clay statue of her target standing in the originals place. It was completely solidified, the clay now beginning to wrap around the hand she was holding the kunai, which as driven into its side.

"No!" the woman growled, now trying to pull her hand out. However, the density and strength of the material prevented her from doing so, and the woman was now fighting against time as the clay began swallowing her up as well.

A blur shot passed the woman, with Kurenai following it with her eyes in shock when she saw the real Deidara sprint past her and the still stuck Zabuza, with only his sword and head sticking out of the clay. Both Jonin watched in surprise as the blond bomber began charging towards their group of students and their client. A grin was plastered on the ninja's face as he formed two hand signs, not even glancing back at his trapped opponents.

"_He used a clay substitute? But that's impossible! That's way too fast for an ordinary shinobi!" _Kurenai thought.

"The clay doppelgangers can perform ninjutsu in my place if I continue feeding them chakra!" Deidara exclaimed as he sprinted, forming one last hand sign.

"Dammit!" Zabuza yelled out.

In an unexpected, last second move, his hands punched through the clay, showing off his incredible physical strength. Forming a quick series of hand signs, the Missing Nin ditched out his escape jutsu, a trump card he had been saving.

"Please work…" he growled. In just two seconds, a humid mist formed up around him, swirling like a tornado, which also consumed Kurenai and enveloped her. However, things didn't look too good when Deidara triggered his bombs.

"KATSU!"

Just as they were enveloped by the mist, Zabuza and Kurenai were seemingly engulfed in an earth shaking explosion, the fiery red clouds sucking them in as they were blown to smithereens. Their students were in awe, but didn't have time to mellow the situation over, as they had the mad attacker now barreling down on them. Deidara saw that there was little opposition between him and his new targets now, and after covering half the distance to get to them, slid to a stop and shoved his hands into his pouches again. A second later, he withdrew them and clenched his fists, holding both out to his sides.

"I shall have the pleasure of making you my next works of art! Hmm!" Deidara exclaimed in a theatrical way, the explosion behind him creating an almost inspirational sight with him in the foreground and the fiery clouds in the background.

Throwing his hands out, he unleashed his next barrage, puffs of smoke bursting out once again, and followed shortly by the appearance of a flock of six birds, these ones a little bigger then last time, about pigeon size. This sight indicated that this was the real Deidara, who was focusing chakra and techniques more prominently.

The birds spiraled through the air as they flew straight towards their targets. Reacting quickly, Shino leapt in front of Naruto and Hinata, and threw both his hands in front of him. In a rush of wind, swarms of bugs flew out of his sleeves, and filled the air in a wall of fluttering insects. The birds flew into the swarm one after the other, the rogue bombs suddenly stopping upon entering the mass. Within seconds, the birds were quickly drained of chakra, and the moment they were sucked dry, the useless clumps of clay were spat out.

Naruto sighed in relief, grinning at Shino's back.

"Nice one Shino…"

"You s-saved us…" Hinata exclaimed. Tazuna was relieved that they had managed to save his hide, and was able to relax for the moment. Haku was back on his feet, shaking off the ringing in his ears.

Deidara smirked, seeing his first wave of attacks fail.

"_Interesting… that fellow uses insects to drain chakra! This may be a little tricky!"_ Deidara exclaimed. He reached into his bag again, his hand biting down on a huge chunk of clay and he pulled it out. Quickly chewing and molding it with his mouth hand, the blond then fisted his hand, bringing it above him, and punching it straight into the ground. The surface of the bridge cracked and split where his punch landed and continued to do so, heading straight for the crowd of Genin.

The man then pulled his arm out of the bridge and clapped his hands together, forming a hand sign. His eyes widened.

"Now what will you do, hmm?"

Just as Shino's bugs were about to fan out again, the bridge road behind them suddenly burst into a shower of debris, and in a flash, a massive insect like creature encircled the group. After a brief glance, the group was able to identify the new creation as a clay-made centipede, the monster surrounding the group in seconds and quickly beginning to tighten the circle. Deidara grinned as the Genin fanned in a defensive perimeter, caught off guard by the new attack.

He set off the bomb, the centipede's massive body beginning to rupture and burst. However, in that same instance, Haku formed a series of quick hand seals and, utilizing the water that was surrounding him, massive ice sheets shot out of the ground, the liquids quickly becoming a solid. The defensive wall encircled the group, in between them and the exploding centipede. It was in that quarter of a second the defense was initiated the explosion of the bug was suddenly sucked into the ice mirrors. This technique certainly surprised Deidara.

"_What the?"_

A cold grazed the back of his neck and he glanced behind him, another ice mirror forming right there. When it was completely formed, and Deidara had turned to face the unexpected sight, the blond bomber was suddenly caught in a rush of hot air shooting out of it. In a blink of an eye, a ball of fire shot out which was the explosion from his technique, and he barely had time to shield his face as the ht flames and smoke roared around and right into him, tearing up his clothes and scarring him.

"ARGH! DAMN THEM!" _"Good thing I limited the amount of chakra to C1 to test that defense…"_

He spun around again, glaring through the smoke; a little burnt from his own blast but overall, was okay. Just then, the smoke in front of him parted and charging through it, he suddenly saw the spiky haired blond kid from the group come flying at him, kunai in his mouth and both arms held back, with two more kunai held in between his fingers of both hands. Deidara was impressed at the speed displayed by the team thus far, and grinned at the lunging Naruto, who was now in striking distance.

"_These ones are exceptional ninja, no question. Hmm…"_

Deidara leapt back as Naruto slashed out, hitting the ground with one foot and propelling himself forward again. The blond bomber ducked and rolled to the left, effectively avoiding the jinchuriki strike and allowing him to sail right passed him. The moment Naruto missed with his first lash and his foot touched the ground, he swiftly changed direction, at the same time as spinning around, he tossed the two kunai he held at Deidara behind him. The blond bomber quickly got back to his feet and leapt in a different direction, once again avoiding his attacks.

Dodging the two kunai, Deidara sprinted across the bridge, heading for the railing on the other side. His hand left the bag it was tucked in and flung out and upwards, sending barrages of clay kunai at his opponent. Naruto ran in a semi-circle around and behind the blond attacker, effectively avoiding the kunai which struck the ground where he was before, effectively detonating with each impact.

Circling around behind the retreating target, Naruto tossed his last two kunai towards Deidara's back, the weapons flying through the air and gaining ground. The running blond detected the attack, and managed to duck underneath the two as they flew over the bridge and out over the channel.

However, before they could completely disappear from sight, a blur shot out of one of the kunai ahead of Deidara, and from it formed Naruto, the blond running out of his jump to his flying weapon and straight for his opponent. The bomber was shocked at the sight of the Genin in front of him, but decided to meet him head to head, throwing his hands back and quickly spewing out strings of clay around him. He flung the net in front of him, a flying web of thick elastic spastically flying through the air straight towards its target.

Naruto had but a split second to make a few calculations as to the trajectory of the strands and crouching at the last second, flung himself forward, crossing his arms ahead of him, he spun through the air like a drill, barley fitting straight through the web, kunai held in front of him. He glared up, his world around him slowing down as he flew straight at his target. Deidara blinked in shock, and barely had time to react when the blond plunged straight into him, kunai first.

Both of them were sent flying back across the bridge, before landing dead center, Naruto landing on top of Deidara. The young Genin pinned the older ninja under him, and dug his kunai in deeper into the man's chest, burying them to the rings. However, just when he thought he had had the sprawled out ninja beneath him over and out of the fight for good, he noticed the grin and blood trickling out of the man's mouth, that blood flow suddenly changing to the color of white.

"I was counting on that…" Deidara exclaimed, before his entire form suddenly turned white and plastic like.

"_A clay substitute!"_ Naruto tried to yank his hands free, which were now slow becoming consumed by the sticky material. He growled and gritted his teeth, trying to pull his limbs free. The boy didn't have much time to wait for help, when Hinata came to his aid, and with a kunai in hand, began cutting away at the clay.

The two of them sensed something in the air and looked up ahead of them, where they saw a massive white animal fly straight up from the other side of the bridge and high into the air. They followed it till it reached an altitude of a hundred meters above them, and realized to their shock that it was the mad-bomber, riding his own creation like a summon. Hinata, Byakugan blazing, looked up at the creature, and was able to make out their target through the clay bird.

"Oh no!" Hinata gasped.

"What is it?" Naruto looked at his teammate.

"He's getting ready for his next attack!" Hinata yelled. "He's got a mass of chakra gathering in his hands! _**A lot**_ of chakra!"

Deidara chuckled and opened his hands and held them out, his hands spitting out a pair of birds, smaller versions of the large sparrow like one he was flying. A grin spread across his own lips as he marveled at his work.

"Art in its raw form, soon to become free and pure! Marvel at its beauty!" he shouted, preparing to launch them.

However, a sight from far below caught his eye and he looked down. On the water's surface, he saw a water spout suddenly appear, a small one but noticeable, rotating around a single individual standing dead center of it. The raised arm and hand seal with the massive sword on his back could be seen from a mile away.

Zabuza glared up towards the bird, his chakra fluctuating.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

The water spout exploded out of the water, chakra wrapping around it and giving it shape, before it rose majestically to form its very name. The water beast gave a great roar, before turning on its target flying just above it and charged him down. Deidara was shocked at the sheer enormity of the beast, but then grinned down at it, clenching his hands, his mouths swallowing his miniature creations.

"Lovely! You truly make your techniques a sight to behold, hmm!" Deidara shouted, within seconds, he spat out two smaller birds from each hand. _"I can parry this technique using C2 Bombs! It can be destroyed by attacking the chakra base points that hold it together! If that doesn't work, I will continue to bombard it till it's obliterated!"_

"Come! You and this bridge will become my greatest master piece… yeah!"

Deidara moved, the bird he was riding veering hard left and diving. In that same instance, the water dragon made a lunge, the roar of its charge filling the skies with a shower of water as the ocean fed it strength. Zabuza kept the dragon going, bringing both his hands up and beginning to guide it. The massive water technique pursued its target, flying after the mad bomber.

Kurenai, back on her own two feet, rushed to one end of the bridge and looked over, accompanied by Haku, Tazuna and Shino. The four of them watched as the bird flew over, quickly followed by the Water Dragon Technique, which showered the bridge and soaked it. Haku was able to stop himself from getting wet, throwing his hand up and shielding himself, the water stopping over him, like it was hitting an invisible umbrella. The others however, were soaked.

After watching Deidara evade the dragon for a moment or so, Kurenai noticed that they had left Gatou and his goons unattended, and quickly made a decision. She turned towards Shino, the boy also switching glances between their flying opponent and the large group of armed mercenaries on the other side of the bridge. The Jonin made the boy's target clear through hand signals.

"Take them, Shino! Knock them out so that we don't have to worry about sabotage or interference!" she shouted. The Genin nodded and leapt into action, charging towards the group. Throwing his hands back, streaks and tendrils of bugs flew out, and surrounded him in defensive formation as he ran.

As Deidara ducked and flew around the water dragon, he caught sight of the glasses boy running towards his client, and grinned. Bringing his right arm around, he clenched the birds between his fingers and took aim.

"_Aiming to destroy my source of income for my troubles…hmm? Not on my watch!"_ He tossed a cluster of birds towards the bridge, which expanded in puffs of smoke before making a dive bombing run on the Genin, who was completely unaware of the incoming threats.

Someone else was on the look out though, and Haku quickly sprang into action. Bringing the water up from his feet, he leapt forward and swung his left hand back. In that same movement, water gathered between his fingertips and solidified into senbon. With deadly accuracy, he flung them straight up, knocking out each bird one after the other. On impact, each bird exploded in a shower of fire, debris and smoke, clouding the sky.

Deidara cursed his luck, but didn't have much time to contemplate his next move when the water dragon he was still evading shot up behind him and lunged down at his bird. The blond quickly directed his bird downwards and dived, descending to sea level and gaining speed. The water dragon technique continued to follow, lashing out every now and again, but missing as the bird ducked and rolled.

Within seconds, Deidara was under the bridge, and was thinking of losing the dragon when he came out the other side. However, someone else had seen him make the evasion, and was quick to respond. Naruto looked over the bridge to see the bomber disappear under it, and thinking on his feet, spun around and sprinted full speed toward the other side of the bridge. Timing it just right, the whisker-marked Genin leapt over the railing and dived, aiming straight for the back of Deidara's bird.

Too focused on his next move, the missing-nin didn't even notice the blond Genin from earlier until he heard a thud behind him on the tail end of his clay bird. He spun around, and saw the blue-eyed shinobi glaring back at him, crouched and kunai in hand.

After that, everything unfolded within a time-span of ten seconds. Deidara swung his right hand out and sent a cluster of spiders straight at the blond, which unfurled in mid-flight and aimed to latch onto their target. Naruto rolled right in evasion then leapt left, slicing one or two spiders while they were in mid-flight, the halves exploding behind him, where the water dragon was still seen in hot pursuit of them.

Naruto didn't want to give any more time to his target to cook up his next clay statue and leapt at him, swinging his left arm back in mid-air, hidden blade flying out and prepared to land. However, Deidara had another move to play from his box of tricks, and forming a quick hand sign, fell back onto the clay bird he was perched on. The moment he hit the surface of the clay, he sunk into it, vanishing inside of his bird, just as Naruto slapped his hidden blade down on his opponent, but instead hit the back of the clay bird's head.

The blond growled. "Damn it!"

A clay fist flew straight up at him and smashed him in the face, sending him flying off of the bird and straight towards the water dragon. However, Naruto wasn't about to give up yet, and while in mid-fall, reached into his jacket and pulled out the crossbow attached to the spring load to his gauntlet. Cocking it back, he fired a few, accurate rounds at the clay bird, hitting the wings, before crashing to the ocean below, disappearing from view as the water dragon roared over his landing spot.

At first, nothing happened. But just as Deidara popped out on the underside of his bird, now ascending higher into the sky, and was preparing to finish off the water dragon and water-logged opponent, the paper wrapped around the arrows lodged in the bird's right wing unfurled themselves. Sparks flew from them, revealing to be exploding tags attached to each arrow, and the moment they opened up, they detonated simultaneously.

The blast shredded the wing, and sent the bird spiraling towards the ocean, with Deidara losing his next cluster of flying bombs in his hands when he was tossed about in the explosion.

He leapt out of the bird just in time, reaching back into his pouch and bringing out a premade, miniature owl statue. Tossing it under him, the clay statue exploded in a cloud of smoke and the creation increased in size, the blond landing atop of it just in time to avoid falling into the water, and pulled up, barley avoiding his other clay bird, which soared right over him and spiraled into the channel below.

Deidara soared high up, avoiding the dragon again as it lunged him. While flying over it, the blond dug his hands into his clay pouches and pulled them out. Crushing it between his hands, it took a second or so for him to create his next piece, and when completed, opened his palms to reveal a small dragon of his own. Grinning he tossed it down towards the dragon now circling about to come at him again. Forming a hand seal, the clay dragon exploded into action, flying out of a white cloud of smoke and diving at the water-made dragon.

The moment it collided, it was consumed by water, and the bomber ninja took his chance, forming a one-handed hand seal.

"KATSU!"

The C2 Dragon detonated with incredible force, disintegrating the water dragon technique and creating an explosion that resembled a tactical nuclear bomb blast. The mushroom cloud that shot into the air was nothing compared to the shockwave, which thrashed about Deidara on his owl, rattled the bridge, and knocked not only Zabuza, but everybody else off of their feet.

Shino and Hinata, who were in the process of tying up the incapacitated enemy, including Gatou, were suddenly thrown about when a massive blast of wind hit them, and sent them hurling towards one side of the bridge. They managed to stop themselves at the railing from going over the edge, and looked up in time to see the massive, fiery mushroom cloud shoot up into the sky and begin to die down. The magnitude of the blast was incredible, and left the two of them staring awe-struck at the explosion.

As the air began to clear, and the waves in the channel hitting the bridge lessened, things became visible once again. Kurenai dragged Tazuna back to his feet, Haku accompanying. She looked around; making sure that the bridge wasn't damaged by the blast.

She was more then amazed that it was still standing as firm as it was before.

"Everyone alright?" she asked.

"Yes…" Haku groaned, shaking his head, and removing his mask. "What the heck was that?"

"Uhh… I think I bruised my tail bone!" Tazuna muttered, rubbing his buttocks. "Good thing I landed on something soft…"

"You're welcome," Kurenai replied, straightening up with her hands behind her, her spine audibly cracking. "Oooh… man…"

Just as the three of them were recovering, they heard a thump behind, and they spun around, where they saw Deidara standing about thirty meters out from them, giant owl perched behind him and a grin on his face. Aside from a few bruises, burns and tears in his clothes, he was relatively fine and still fighting fit. Everyone else however were struggling to keep up with the one man.

"My, this bridge is a tough one…hmm?" the blond grinned, bringing his arms in front of him and crossing them over, palms open and revealing his grinning hand-mouths. "Even with my C2 Dragon detonating at only a hundred meters away, this marvelous structure is still standing! That's saying something…hn!"

Kurenai and Haku leapt in front of Tazuna, taking up defensive stances. The mad bomber chuckled and shoved his hands into his pouches again, rummaging for a second and pulling them out. Bringing them out, he threw them forward and in a blink of an eye, two snakes shot out of his hands. The clay spiraled through the air and flew at Tazuna, aiming to impale him or ensnare him, but before they could even get half way, Haku tossed a barrage of senbon in their direction, hitting the clay snakes head on and also directing a few towards Deidara. The missing nin responded quickly, bringing out a kunai and quickly blocking the barrage, eyes fixed on his two opponents.

In that same instant Kurenai charged at him, two kunai drawn and ready for action. She threw the first one at the blond, who ducked under it and in response, also charged at the woman. Their blades clashed in the center, with Deidara quickly gaining the upper-hand in the grapple and pushing Kurenai back. The raven haired ninja struggled to hold her own in the grapple, sparks flying between her and her opponent as they pushed at each other. Deidara grinned.

"With your hand occupied, what are you to do? Hmm?"

Kurenai grinned at the man, and suddenly, her body disintegrated, scattering in a shower of pink cherry blossom petals. Deidara gasped and suddenly staggered forward, losing his footing. Spinning around him, he found himself surrounded by flower petals, eyes darting from left to right as he attempted to seek out his opponent through the haze. But just as he was still searching for his opponent, large tree roots shot out of the ground at his feet, and curled around him legs, trapping him, before the roots and branches grew upwards and formed into a giant tree. The man growled as he felt his limbs bound by the genjutsu, and glared up, seeing his opponent's upper-body shoot out of the side of tree right above him.

The red-eyed Jonin grinned, her kunai brought around to bare down on the Missing Nin.

"You're mine!" she exclaimed, thrusting down to deliver the finishing blow. Deidara grinned and bit the corner of his lip, drawing blood.

That shook him out of the genjutsu, and he ducked down just in time to avoid the hook of the kunai as it came at him from his blind spot. Responding quickly, he kicked out at the woman's feet behind him, tripping her and sending her to the ground. The raven haired woman gritted her teeth and leapt back, back-flipping several times before stopping at a safe distance away from her opponent. She was certain she had got him, but he had seen through her genjutsu.

"Damn it!"

"Don't mock me with your fake techniques!" Deidara shouted, licking his bleeding lip and bringing about his own kunai back up, grinning. "You think that by confronting me with your genjutsu that you can trick me…hmm? Genjutsu is like a bad copy of a true master piece! Nothing can compare to the original works!"

"I'm not done yet!" Kurenai replied. Bringing her hand back round to her pouch, she drew a cluster of shuriken and quickly threw them at her opponent.

The shuriken were easily avoided, and Deidara predicted that the woman would come at him again. He was right, and was ready to meet the raven haired woman as she came charging at him. However, before she even came in for a strike, she exploded in a shower of pink flower petals again, which blanketed over the blond like a cloud, and surrounded him. The missing ninja growled and looked through the petals, finding that he was completely surrounded by the genjutsu.

Before he could take any action though, he suddenly saw the woman burst through the cloud of petals in front of him, kunai drawn back and ready to strike. She came in fast, swinging out with her blade and hitting him in the chest, or so she thought.

Deidara managed to bring his arm up just in time to shield himself, and was thrown back when the woman hit him, sending him flying back from the blow. He skidded across the bridge, stopping about ten meters away from his opponent, and now apparently out of the genjutsu from the pain his brain received from the blow.

"Good thing I have a high pain tolerance! Yeah…" the man exclaimed, looking down at his forearm to see that the kunai was driven all the way through to the other side. He grinned and lowered his arm. "I won't pull it out, or I might bleed to death! That will be a major blow to the artistic community and to my art, hmm!"

"Just shut up!" a voice roared from behind, and Deidara's eyes widened in shock. He spun around, seeing Zabuza with his massive Decapitating Blade being swung at him, coming up right behind him. The blond furrowed his brow and glared at him.

"You again, hn?"

He ducked just in time to avoid the swing of the blade and leapt away, right underneath a second swing when Zabuza came back around with it. The blond bomber moved into retreat, crouching low when he managed to put distance between him and his opponent. He tossed a couple of clay spiders in the swordsman's direction, and detonated them while they were still in mid-air.

Zabuza shielded himself with his sword, since it was so massive and acted as a large shield as well. Unheeded by the blasts or smoke, he dashed through it, once again charging at his opponent, who grinned at the man, clearly impressed by his own tolerance and durability. Deidara stood, and ducked under another swing, and leapt away, quickly pursued by the furious Missing Nin, now swinging his massive blade in his direction.

Deidara quickly found himself at a disadvantage, and was becoming a bit insecure by how fast the man was managing to swing his blade around him with such ease. It all became to clear to him when he received a massive blow across his chest, the Executioner's Blade slicing a nice gash across him, and forcing the missing nin to leapt further away in response.

Landing a top of the bridge railings, Deidara frowned as he watched Zabuza take a more secure stance, and face him down. He huffed in exhaustion, with the big swordsman also panting from the efforts. Kurenai was on her knees at this point, a little dizzy from the amount of genjutsu she had to dish out in a row to throw the man off.

"_These shinobi are tough, hmm? I'm impressed…"_ the young blond thought, before sparing a glance towards his primary target and his client. He saw that Tazuna was still being well-guarded by Haku, and that Gatou and his henchmen were all tied up and under watch by Shino and Hinata on the other end of the bridge. The man frowned, and reached into his pouches, finding that he only had just a bit of clay left. _"I'm down to my last mouthful… guess it's time for a retreat!"_ He glared towards his giant owl still sitting where it was, lifeless. _"I can use that…"_

Just as he was rounding on a conclusion, Deidara was hit in the head by a stone, and ultimately staggered by the blow to the side of the head. Bleeding a bit, the man glared in the direction it had come from, along with everybody else who had their eyes on him and saw the stone. When they looked towards the island entry to the bridge, they received quite a bit of surprise when they saw a turnout of over a hundred civilians on the bridge, all of them armed with whatever they could find, and glaring down the missing ninja.

Led by Inari, the villagers from the Wave Country let out a roar, a declaration of war as they faced off against the blond ninja, knowing that he was the ne responsible for the commotion going on.

"This fight ends now!" Inari shouted, the boy wearing a soup-pot for a helmet and armed with a crossbow. "Leave this country and never return!" The villagers responded with another outcry, and moved forward in response, obviously in an attempt to scare away the attackers. Gatou and his minions tied up but in plain view, were terrified at the sight.

Tazuna grinned. "Inari…everyone…"

The boy grinned towards his grandpa and gave him the thumbs up. "We're here to help, just as you guys have helped us!"

Haku also smiled at the sight, along with Hinata and the stoic Shino, but Kurenai and Zabuza were still a little concerned for the crowd's safety. At that moment, Deidara grinned at the hordes of vigilante's coming to the aid of the shinobi, and let out a tremendous laugh. This silenced the crowd's antics and drew everybody's attention towards him. The missing nin laughed out right at the sight and the joy he was feeling at that moment, and wiped his eye of a single tear. His teeth were bared in that characteristically insane way.

"Oh this is beautiful! Truly magnificent! An audience has turned out to witness my greatest creation, hmm!" Deidara laughed, glaring towards Zabuza and Kurenai. "This is perfect; an excellent opportunity to show off my latest master piece: an explosive ballet the likes of which the world has never seen…hmm!"

Kurenai furrowed her brow at the laughing man.

"_This is bad… what is he planning?"_

Deidara's grin widened.

"You all just watch, as I obliterate this bridge and everyone on it! The fleeting moment this structure shall perish in will be a grand spectacle!" Smirking, the blond turned and sprinted for his giant owl, and Zabuza was right on his tail. The mad bomber however managed to get to his bird in the nick of time, and took off just before the swordsman could even get near him. Under a barrage of pelted stones and pitch forks, the blond bomber took to the sky, with the crowd and everybody else on the bridge looking up with uncertainty and shock.

"This is not good…" Zabuza commented.

Deidara ascended to an altitude of about three hundred meters. Once in position, he put both his hands into his pouches and rummaged through the remaining contents and brought them out. Slapping both hands together, he began molding and shaping the chakra. After about ten seconds, he had completed his work, and parting his hands, he revealed to have created a miniature, ghost shaped statue. It resembled one o the statues of a spiritual entity, but which one is unknown.

The man chuckled, sweat dripping down his face. "Not as strong as the ones in my collection, but it'll do: C3 Ohako… this should deliver the destructive power I require!"

Just as he was getting to his feet, and readying to release it, his right leg gave way and he collapsed onto all fours. He panted heavily from that.

"_My chakra is almost gone… I've dragged out the fight using C1 and C2 for too long…"_

"But this should do it…hmm!" Deidara exclaimed, holding up his statue in one hand. "My master piece…shall be unleashed!" He tossed it over the side, and slapped his hands together into his familiar hand seal. The clay doll fell as fast as gravity and weight took it, and as it fell to a suitable altitude, it began to expand, arms extending and inflating, giving it more lift and slowing its descent. It grew and grew, till it almost blanketed the shinobi and crowd below in its large shadow. Kurenai, Zabuza, Haku and everyone else gazed on in shock, not knowing what to do with such a large scale bomb plummeting towards them.

The crowds cried out and ran for it, but knew they wouldn't be able to escape what was to come, and everyone on the bridge braced themselves for impact.

Deidara grinned, and formed his last hand seal.

"Watch on everyone! Witness the beauty of my creation! Because my art… "

He wasn't able to finish his statement, as he was distracted by the arrival of a familiar face on the bridge. Kurenai heard a clanging sound behind her, and turned to see a soaking wet Naruto climbing back up the bridge, glaring up at the massive statue falling towards them from where he was perched on the railings.

"Oh shit… that's not good at all…" he wasted little time with his next move. Standing up on the railings, he pulled out two of his uniquely shaped kunai with his father's familiar seals inscribed on its handle. He took aim and pitched the first kunai in his right hand, sending it over and around the Ohako in an excellent curved throw. The second one, he placed between his fingers. Flipping through a quick series of hand signs, he then held it straight up towards the falling behemoth.

The Ohako statue detonated right above them, the explosion careening straight towards the bridge. But then, just as it was about to consume everything and everyone on it, the fire, smoke, ash and debris were suddenly caught in a rift, and began disappearing. The slipstream sucked the entire blast into the kunai held in Naruto's hands. He had an extreme amount of trouble controlling and containing the explosion as it got absorbed into his kunai, sweat pouring down his face as the entire blast vanished in a blink of an eye. Everyone who was watching was stunned.

Deidara frowned, hoping that his trump card would have done the trick. But all thoughts and contemplation vanished when he heard a thump, and looked over the side of his owl to see a kunai lodged in the side of its neck, with strange markings on its handle. He raised an eyebrow.

"What the…?"

Naruto grinned and formed one last hand seal, taking aim with the explosion he had managed to catch with his father's space-time technique.

"My art… is a _**bang**_!" Naruto exclaimed.

_**BOOOOMM!**_

Deidara was consumed in his own explosion, which detonated out from Naruto's kunai. The fiery cloud enveloped him, seemingly disintegrated him, and sent the missing ninja from Iwagakure packing. The blast safely detonated above the bridge and out of range, but enough for the shockwave to hit everyone down below almost like a blast of wind that staggered the crowds and rattled the shinobi. The blinding flash, the fiery clouds and everything else appeared and disappeared in an instant.

The dying of the explosion and the empty sky meant that this fight was over.

Kurenai sighed in relief and fell back onto her behind, resting against the railings. Zabuza also fell over, propping himself up on his sword and wiping his brow.

"Man… controlling that Water Release Technique really took it out of me…I need to get back into shape…" Zabuza groaned.

Hinata and Shino stood where they were, relieved that they had just avoided death. They had all formed the mercenaries up, all of them either unconscious or in states of deep shock. Gatou was among those who were unconscious, and was looking a little terrified at the moment.

"Damn shinobi… you can never rely on them to do anything…" he grumbled, while sweating like a pig.

Naruto meanwhile, let out a sigh of relief, but then just collapsed, fainting from the effort. Haku jogged over and knelt at his side, checking to see if his friend was okay. Confirmed he was okay, the young teen smiled up at Kurenai and gave her the thumbs up, to which she nodded.

"He's had it rough… let him sleep," the Jonin exclaimed, smiling. Zabuza chuckled and shook his head.

"Kid's got stamina, but even some techniques can be taxing on the body…" the swordsman stated, shrugging his shoulders. "Particularly the ones I've seen him perform; the Mass Shadow Clone Jutsu, the Rasengan, the teleportation techniques… those are three of some of the most advanced moves I've ever seen, not even I can use to such a degree…"

"That was a big Water Dragon Bullet Technique you were able to use. The size you conjured it too was phenomenal," Kurenai exclaimed. "And that Mist Clone technique was really impressive too… definitely got us out of trouble…"

"To do something like that takes a lot of chakra, especially in the small time frame I had to use it to escape that clay-monster, beast… whatever's explosion," the man replied, pushing himself back to his feet. He swung his sword around him and sheathed it onto his back. After Kurenai picked up Naruto and placed him on her back, she then accompanied Zabuza and Haku over to Hinata and Shino, who were now unceremoniously ordering Gatou and his hired goons back towards the island.

The prisoners were escorted towards the waiting crowd, where a great number of them threw fruit at Gatou before processing him towards the nearest jail cell. When word spread that the businessman/tyrant that was and had been controlling their lands had gotten out, the whole village was in celebration. Cheers of happiness and cries of joy spread across the entire town, and to the crowd that was still on the bridge, they too celebrated, hugging, shouting and cheering loudly till their voices were hoarse.

"Gatou has fallen!"

"The bridge has been saved!"

"We're free!"

"FREE!"

"Well they seem to be in a good mood," Tazuna chuckled as he and his protectors returned to the island, some of the limping, the others just exhausted.

"I guess it's been a while since they could party in the streets… a first time in years," Kurenai laughed. "Having finally gotten their hands on Gatou means that the chains of oppression have finally been unlatched, and they can all breathe easy once again…"

"Yup…" Tazuna was trying not to skip ahead in joy… it was bad for his knees. "It's been a long time!"

Hinata smiled, hands laced together. "I-I'm so happy for them…"

Shino looked over at his friend, trying to smile under his collar, but finding it incredibly painful to do so. "It's not only our victory, but theirs as well. Courage came from fear, despair, pain and suffering… and that little glimmer of hope helped it along."

Hinata smiled looking back over at Naruto riding on Kurenai's back. The boy, who had dropped to the ground from fatigue, was now awake, eyes barely open and looking back at Hinata and Shino. The purple haired girl, overjoyed to see he was awake, ran up to him, while Shino trudged along behind her.

"A-Are you okay, Naruto-kun?"

"I'm fine, Hinata-chan…" the blond replied, his vision clearing. "Although, I'm a little tired. You handled yourself really well out there… thanks for the heads up."

"That's okay!" the girl exclaimed, smiling care freely.

Naruto grinned at her, and also through a smile at Shino, who was still blank behind his shades and collar. "What? Not even a laugh? Come on Shino… give me something to remember…"

"Maybe another time, Naruto Uzumaki," the bug user replied in monotone.

"Your techniques are scary… but they are really effective," Naruto said a-matter-of-factly. "Wish I could use chakra absorbing bugs."

"It's a lot of work raising a hive and nurturing it, Naruto," Shino stated, but smiled a small smile out of sight. "You should be proud of your own techniques, you did really well…"

"That guy was tough. A really ruthless and dangerous man," the blond replied, looking towards the sky where the remnants of the smoke cloud hung. As he was carried off of the bridge by Kurenai, and the group, including Zabuza, Haku and Tazuna were on their way home to rest for the day, the young jinchuriki couldn't help but wonder.

"_Although…I still can't help thinking that I haven't seen the last of him…"_

_

* * *

_

_**Miles away…**_

Hiding in the treetops, perched on one of the many large branches, sat a rather bruised up and winded Deidara. The blond had his arm practically charred in the explosion, and his clothes were rather tattered. He was in the process of bandaging his wounds, his hand-mouths cutting the straps as he wrapped his arms up.

The blond smirked under his bang of hair.

"Perhaps I underestimated my opponents a little bit… hmm?" he mumbled to himself, knotting up his bandage. _"The swordsman is strong, so is that genjutsu kunoichi…but that little brat. Able to turn my own attack against me… how did he do that?"_

Furrowing his brow, Deidara shook off his injuries and dizziness, and leapt from his perch. He landed in the shrubbery and started on back home. He was low on clay, only carrying enough for a flight home, and was rather staggered from his low chakra levels.

"_I'm looking forward to facing those Konoha shinobi again,"_ the man smirked widely. "I have to practice my art some more, and get stronger for my next encounter. Next time… I will surely decimate them…hmm?"

The man stopped in his tracks, when he suddenly spotted a bunch of people standing in his path, just several meters out. He blinked, analyzing their attire and statures. For one, they all wore similar outfits, black cloaks with red clouds on them. The middle one was a tall man wearing a straw hat with paper streamers covering a blue face, and had a massive sword on his back. The one standing on that man's right was a middle-sized you man wearing the same hat, only he appeared to have black hair, overshadowing his eyes. The last of them was a short figure, a man hunched over, and had a rather old, wrinkly face with a bandana worn over his mouth. If the missing nin wasn't mistaken, that last guy's face looked quite artificial, and ghost like.

Deidara blinked, and reached back for a kunai.

"What do you fellas want…aye?"

The young man standing next to the tall guy tipped the rim of his hat up, and glared at the blond. The young missing nin thought he was tripping for a moment, when he saw a pair of red eyes glaring back at him, black tomos spinning around the irises.

"We just want to talk…" the young, cloaked ninja calmly replied…

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

_**

* * *

**_

Author's Note:

Do not comment... for the last time, on the origins of the ninja, if I mispelled anything or misplaced a ninja from whatever country they are from, it's driving me nuts! I would just like comments on how the story is progressing.


	19. Foreboding

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Foreboding_

"Okay Naruto-kun… this might hurt a little…"

"I told you Hinata, I'm fiiiIIIIIIIIII_**IIIIAAAAAAIIII**_INNNNNEEEEEeeee!" Naruto ended with a scream and almost keeled forward, tears streaming down his face, and teeth gritted.

That late afternoon when Team 7 returned home, and Tazuna's men assumed repairs of the bridge to the Land of Fire and checked it for other damage, everyone was all beat and deposited themselves around the house to heal and recover. Of course, when they did return home with Inari, they found to their surprise about a dozen of Gatou's men tied up out front, battered and bruised. The thugs had apparently tried to attack the home of the bridge builder's remaining family, but had failed miserably. Just like Gatou himself, they were now prisoners of Wave Country.

"… and all of them will be trialed tomorrow for a variety of crimes against our home island and town, with charges ranging from murder to petty theft," Tazuna finished explaining to Kurenai, who was wrapping bandages over her disinfected wounds on her right arm and shoulder. "Of course, assuming that his jailers don't kill him by morning, I'm sure Gatou will be getting exactly what he deserves…"

"Well, tough luck if he tries to escape his fate," Shino spoke up from his side of the bedroom, where he sat on the floor, allowing his bugs to help repair their 'hive'. It was his special way of healing wounds. "My insects practically sucked them dry of energy… he, and his lackeys, will be unable to move any further then a hundred meters for a week…"

Kurenai smiled at the boy. "Could have afforded to drain them even more?"

Shino grunted. "I'm not that cruel…"

"Easy Naruto-kun… you injured yourself a lot when you fell from that man's bird," Hinata said, smiling as she rubbed the herbal cream over the huge inflammation on the blonds' back, which was practically beaten into his flesh. It wasn't an ordinary wound; it was a deep, painful looking bruise, almost resembling a burn mark. "T-The fall… must have been from very high up…"

"It was over a hundred meters above sea level," Naruto exclaimed, wincing as he glanced over his shoulder at his teammate. "Unfortunately, I'm not the flying type…" Reaching over to his stuff he had removed off of his person, he began sorting through his material goods.

Apparently, whenever the young Genin went out on missions, he went out fully stocked up and prepared. He not only had his fur jacket, a scarf for particular cold treks, med-kit, food pack and water flask, he also carried a full arsenal of weaponry. Laid next to his kunai holster and shuriken pouch, he had a bandoleer he wore under his jacket, sheathed with a variety of throwing knives. These included the standard kunai and shuriken, his custom made kunai used by his father with linked seals drawn onto their handles, custom hira shuriken, kurai, two concealed ANBU blades, clasp knives, lock blades, silver wing throwing knives, two pure silver battle axes, and stainless steel with cord grip throwing knives, small enough for easy conceal purposes.

This bandoleer of weapons sat on top of his folded jacket, along with his duel wrist gauntlets usually concealed, a retractable crossbow with ammunition, and wire. Kurenai was a little shocked at the stuff the boy carried on him.

"Any more surprises, Naruto?" Kurenai asked.

The blond groaned as he straightened up, having made a grab for one of his kurai, and began looking it over, to see if it was still in good condition.

"I have to be ready for anything," the Genin stated. "I have another blade or two hidden on my body still, but I'm not going to say where…"

"A bit much, don't you think?" Zabuza asked.

"Maybe…"

"Well… if you feel comfortable on the battlefield…" the swordsman said, approaching the boy. Grinning, he raised a hand, and in one swift movement, slapped the boy on his back. The resounding clap was nothing, it was the scream from Naruto that followed, the boy's back almost snapping when he straightened and shook from the pain. "That's all that matters…"

"AAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGHHH! YOU SON OF A BITCH!" the usually composed Naruto shrieked at the top of his lungs, dropping his kurai as he dropped to his hands and knees, trembling.

Zabuza laughed and began walking out of the room, passing his student Haku who was sitting in the corner, tending to his wounds. His leg was covered in senbon needles to douse the pain as he bandaged his thigh, and he had a variety of bandages on his face and right arm; the blast he was caught in having scorched him quite a bit.

"I've wanted to do that for a loooong time!" Zabuza exclaimed, looking back at the writhing Genin. "How does it…GAAAAHHH!" He ducked just in time to avoid the kurai thrown his way, which sliced through a few strands of his hair before impaling the wall.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" Naruto roared. He picked up a cluster of kunai from his bandoleer, and with deadly accuracy, tossed them at his target. Zabuza yelled and leapt out of the room, just barely avoiding the barrage. Sounds of footsteps dashing down the hall and the door slamming at the end meant that the missing nin was on the run from a very pissed Naruto.

"I'm not done yet!" Naruto growled. Forgetting his other clothes, he flung his bandoleer on him like a vest, and picked up his crossbow. Kurenai, Hinata, Shino, Tazuna and Haku watched with great amusement and interest as Naruto loaded a drum canister of arrows into his weapon, and using some of Hinata's dark cream, painted hunting marks under his eyes. Soon afterwards, he ran after the swordsman. "The hunt is on now, Zabuza!"

He slammed the door on his way out.

The rest of the team and onlookers stared after them, blinking in thought. Before long, they all returned to their business.

"He'll be fine," Haku said, finishing up on his bandage work.

"Naruto or Zabuza?" Tazuna asked.

The boy lifted his head for a moment, keeping quiet. A few seconds later, he smiled and stood up, using the wall for support.

"I'd rather not say…"

Most of that afternoon was spent nursing wounds, especially the ones Zabuza sustained when Naruto caught him and dragged him back into the house, wrapped in a large wire net, with his sword held by the blond as a trophy. When messing about, Naruto always one, but in terms of actual fighting, Zabuza was actually still the stronger of the two.

After a celebratory dinner made by Tsunami, Haku and Inari, they all hit the hay for a good night's rest, even Naruto. Hinata fell asleep curled up next to him, Kurenai slept separate, Haku cradled his blanket next to the window, and everybody seemed to keep well away from Shino when they noticed earlier that a number of centipedes, cockroaches and beetles were crawling in and out of sight of his sleeping bag. It was a relatively quiet night at Tazuna's home, the sloshing of the waves and the songs of crickets being the only sounds heard throughout the night once more. With the whole of the country returning to normal, nights like this grew more and more peaceful.

The next morning, Hinata woke up along with Naruto, both of them sitting up with ruffled up hair and disheveled clothing. Rubbing their eyes, they looked at one another, both of them reaching up and adjusting the other's hair to their likeness, before standing.

Side by side, they began walking out of the room, and noticed that Kurenai, who was sleeping flat out on her back in her undergarments, and snoring soundlessly, had a massive tarantula sitting on her forehead.

Moments passed as the two Genin registered to the sight, and both of them paled, hair rising off of them from seeing the dinner plate sized beast. Naruto had half a mind to tip-toe over and bat it off, but Hinata stopped him and shook her head.

Shrugging shoulders, the pair left, knowing that Shino was going to be getting a mouth full when Kurenai wakes up and doesn't kill herself in the process.

Of course, the tarantula wasn't the only strange sight they awoke to. Upon arriving at the kitchen, they saw a familiar person lying across the table.

With his sword propped up against the wall, Zabuza was sleeping quietly across the eating space, and due to his size, his legs dangled off the other end while his head was roosted on top of a pillow on the other end. This was one of the only times Naruto had ever seen the swordsman without his mask on _**and **_in the state he was in. It was quite pathetic, in all honesty.

"S-Should we wake him?" Hinata asked.

"Nah… to tell you the truth, I'm more worried about disturbing him then the tarantula…"

Zabuza murmured and turned over, nuzzling his pillow. "Hmm…hn…uh-huh yeah… a donut would be very nice…sweetie…"

"See; let's not wake him from his pleasant dream…"

Instead of setting up for breakfast, the two of them went outside, and although they were still bed-dressed, they sat out on the front porch and quietly stared out over the ocean channel. The pair sat close to one another and enjoyed the view, and felt the warmth of the morning sun coax them out of their sleepy states.

"You know, after that fight with that weird Iwa guy, and being so close to getting obliterated, really makes me miss home," Naruto exclaimed. Hinata nodded her head and looked at the boy she deeply admired and cared for. "When all of this is over, I just can't wait to see the village again! It's gonna be great!"

"W-We'll be back by the end of the week," the Hyuuga replied, tilting her head at him. "What else do you miss…b-besides the village?"

The blond sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "My history with the villagers has been… unpleasant for most of my life, so there are a few faces I'm not looking forward to seeing. But…" he glanced down at the girl and grinned. "…now I have so many new reasons to be looking forward to home. My apartment, little Haru, Old Man Hokage and Jiraiya, Anko-sensei, the ramen stand, Teuchi and Ayame… you…" The ninja boy laughed lightly and looked back over at the ocean. "Of course… I enjoy spending my time with you Hinata-chan…"

Hinata giggled and shuffled over, resting her head against his arm. "W-What else?"

"Hmm… well… there is also Sakura-chan and all of our friends. Perhaps when we get back, we can spend a lot more time with them, arrange a get together, or just go exploring the village, what do you say?" Naruto asked nudging his companion lightly. Hinata shrugged her shoulders.

"Sounds fun, Naruto-kun."

The two of them watched as a flock of gulls flew over head and over the ocean, the sunlight breaking through the clouds creating an almost magical effect across the entire setting. It was a wonderful sight.

"What about Zabuza and Haku," Hinata asked, looking up at her teammate in question. "What's going to happen to them? W-Where will they go?"

The alliance with the two rogue ninja was a rather unexpected twist in their journey, and seemed to add another factor to the equation. So far in the history of Team 7, Naruto had had a very unusual habit of attracting a lot of strange travelers on their missions so far, ignoring the small D-rank missions where all he attracted were small animals and curious kids from the village. These were C-Rank missions and higher in the case of the four person squad. First adopting a child with legendary status eyes and Ryoko from the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and now they had Zabuza and Haku on their platter.

Naruto had thought long and hard, considering whether he would be able to get the Hokage to approve the applications of Zabuza and Haku into their ninja forces in Konoha. Haku wouldn't be a problem, since he wasn't a registered ninja; it was Zabuza who was the most troublesome. Next to Kisame, Zabuza was ranked pretty high in the bingo book, and a lot of ninja from different countries were out for his head.

He prayed that he could pull off two straight flushes in the span of these few weeks, and help out his homeless friends.

"Well… I wouldn't call them homeless," Naruto mumbled.

"What was that, Naruto-kun?"

"Oh sorry, just breaking the forth wall there for a moment. Anyway… I think I have an idea for them…"

"Hmm?"

"I mean… it's another risk venture but…" Naruto looked down at Hinata and flashed her, his charming grin. The result, another blush arose on the girl, and she once again felt light headed. "When have I ever let anyone down?"

"N-Not once…"

"Believe it," the blond said with a wink.

"!" the piercing cry of terror came echoing out from the house, making Naruto and Hinata jump. The two of them wheeled around, and they both sighed in relief when the cries of terror were traced back to their sensei.

"T-There we go," Hinata exclaimed, a smile spreading across her cheeks. "Oh well… it won't be the worst thing she'll be waking up to i-in the future…" Naruto let out a laugh and turned to her.

"Why Hinata, are you developing a mischievous streak?" Naruto asked. The purple haired girl hid her neck behind her shoulders and she smirked back.

"Maybe…"

"SHINO! GET YOUR _**PET**_ OFF OF ME!" Kurenai shrieked from the bedroom.

Zabuza was woken violently by the woman's outcry and threw himself off of the table. Grabbing his giant clever blade, and not even worrying about the fact that he was still wearing striped pajama bottoms, sprinted to her aid. When he got there, his opening words for this morning leapt out of his mouth before his mind even registered to what he was going to say.

"Alright! Calm down! I'm sure his cat doesn't have lice!" Zabuza said. Kurenai was clearly on her feet, and trying not to panic too much, with Shino sitting bolt upright on his side of the room. Haku was lying on his side staring at the wall, rather bothered by the commotion, and trying to ignore it.

Apparently, even ninjas weren't morning people, since they basically stayed up most nights and such.

"Not…a…cat," Kurenai growled, and turned, showing Zabuza the tarantula plastered to her face. The swordsman leapt back in shock.

"WHOA! What the hell is that?"

"Are…you…joking?" the Jonin hissed. "It's… a… freakin'…_**big**_…spider!"

"Alright…Alright! D-Don't move!" Zabuza said, trying to calm the woman. As he approached, he brought his sword up like he was about to swing a baseball bat. Furrowing his brow with sweat pouring down his face, he took careful aim. "Just… stay… where you are."

Kurenai's face paled when he saw the man approach her with his massive blade hanging in the air. She was so terrified at that point, she swore even the spider was scared.

"W-What are you…?"

"Shhh!" Zabuza hissed. He cranked the sword back, now within range. "Don't… move… a muscle…"

However, before any one of them could do anything, the spider suddenly leapt off of Kurenai and instead of sitting where it was, ran after Zabuza. The sword wearing man let out a shriek of terror and swung his sword down at the ground, intent on hitting the eight legged beast, but missed. Splitting the floorboards, he leapt back with his massive weapon and slashed at the spider's legs with deadly accuracy, only for the spider to hop over the swing and continue its pursuit.

Freaking out, Zabuza fled the room, the tarantula on his tale.

"Good God! HELP!" he screamed, breaking for the door and bursting out in, leaping right between Naruto and Hinata, who V-d out to give the man space. A second later, the spider leapt passed the two Genin as well, and continued its amusing chase of Zabuza across and around the clearing in front of them. Now it was just a plain out chase and futile attempts to kill each other that followed.

"DIE SPIDER!" Zabuza roared, swinging his sword barely above the ground at the tarantula as it jumped and hopped around, easily avoiding the sword. "GAAAH! STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

The chase would continue on for a good half an hour, and in that time, a disgruntled Kurenai, Shino, Haku, Tazuna, Inari and Tsunami joined Naruto and Hinata on the porch. The sight seemed to brighten all of them up, even making Shino smile, and with the past events sinking in to this morning; all of them knew that they could see a brighter future ahead of them all.

"You know, I don't usually say this to strangers or employees, but I'm really going to miss you lot when you're gone," Tazuna exclaimed, looking over at Kurenai, who smiled back at him. "Promise us you'll come visit us every once in a while."

"Heh… yeah," the Jonin replied. "We may be busy most of our lives, but that doesn't mean we don't have a social life…" The old man chuckled and knelt down between Naruto and Hinata, placing his hands on their shoulders, both of them looking up at him.

"Don't you two be strangers now," the bridge builders said. "Once Wave gets back on its feet, I want you to come on down with your friends to check out the place…heck… we'll be making you guys honorary citizens and heroes of this country for what you guys have done for us."

Naruto grinned and Hinata smiled.

"Sure thing old timer…" Tazuna grinned back at Naruto, and ruffled his hair.

They returned their eyes to Zabuza, who was now full blown running from the tarantula, running circles with it still in pursuit, trying to give it a really wide birth. Kurenai sighed and glanced down at Shino, who had now joined Naruto and Hinata in spectatorship.

"Maybe you should call your friend back," the raven haired woman exclaimed, still laughing on the inside. "I think Zabuza has had enough…"

"Oh… that's not my spider," Shino stated.

Everyone on the porch blinked and looked down at the boy, who continued to watch the sight with interest and a bit of a grin under the collar.

* * *

_**At the end of the week…**_

The people of the port-town village of Wave stood gathered at the entrance to the great bridge that now joined their land with the Land of Fire, a structure that had just undergone completion the day before, and now stood proudly across the channel. No longer divided from the rest of the world, the people of the island stood with new strength in their bodies and souls, as they awed at their creation.

Almost after that fateful battle, everyone turned up to help repair and complete the bridge, the young, the old and the homeless, all of them turned out to lend a helping hand. To add to it, a lot of the people also decorated the structure, and at the island entrance of the bridge built a monument as testament to their achievement today. A large stone belted with a small garden, commemorated those who had given their lives to ensure the bridge was completed, even the ones still alive.

Naruto and his friends were among those, whose names were carved into the rock.

Speaking of which, the group stood upon the completed bridge at Wave's end, smiling at the crowds who had turned out to see them off. Since the structure's completion, they would be the first to walk across it.

"Thanks to you guys, we've finished the bridge," Tazuna exclaimed, grinning at the group, now dressed and ready to march. "I hope that the reward for your efforts was enough?"

"It's fine, really," Kurenai exclaimed, holding up both her hands. "You and your family have done more then enough for us."

"Are you sure?" Tsunami asked, holding her son by his shoulders, also smiling brightly. "I mean, you've done so much for us. I'm sure there must be some other way…"

"No, no… please," Naruto said hastily. "Let's just call it even…"

Hinata nodded in agreement. "I-It's an equal trade."

"Alright then," Tazuna chuckled. "It's a shame you have to go though…"

"Ah! We'll see each other again!" Naruto declared, giving their old client and his family the thumbs up. "Don't go dying on us! I'll be back to check on you! And make sure you build some sort of resort once your island is up and running. I'll be booking as the first guest of honor!"

Tazuna chuckled, as did a lot of the villagers. "We'll be sure to build one!" a random person from the crowd shouted, followed by other shouts of praise, thanks and promises. The three Genin of the team shuffled on the spot, smiling at the positive words flowing their way, and Kurenai just smiled happily, knowing that her students' didn't expect to receive such praise from strangers on a mission like this.

"Oh yeah, and Zabuza," Tazuna looked over at the swordsman, who looked over at the old man in kind. "If you manage to get your hands on some good wine or sake, send it on over. I want to hold onto it for the next time we all get together to celebrate, aye!"

The swordsman blinked in surprise, but then smiled in a similar way to Kakashi, nodding his head affirmatively.

"Sure thing, old man." Haku smiled and looked up at his master. Since changing sides, both he and his Jonin sensei had gone on and changed their appearances too. Now did they not only glow with the radiance of peace from the sacrifice they have made for these people, but they also dressed cool. Zabuza now wore a light brown Jonin vest, his headband now just a plain silver plate, and his pants now an awesome forest camo color. Haku also wore something different, an orange and red kimono robe, purple pants, and wooden sandals, and a dark green, long head band with a light brown scarf worn around his neck.

It was a big change for everyone.

Inari, on the verge of tears, broke away from his mother and dashed towards the group. He leapt at Naruto and hugged him tightly, surprising the young Genin, who returned the hug with one of his own. The boy sobbed as he held onto his friend.

"D-Do you promise you will visit us?"

Smiling, Naruto pushed Inari away from him and knelt down in front of him. Placing a hand on the boy's head, the blonde assured him with words that he knew the bridge builder's grandson would remember.

"Hey…I always keep my promises… don't you worry," Naruto whispered. "Grow up strong so you can protect your family and those precious to you, okay. If you promise me that, I will keep my promise, and visit you…"

Tears streamed down Inari's face when he heard this and after nodding his head to the boy with a big smile on his face, turned and sprinted back to his mother.

"Don't forget about us!" he shouted, flying into his mom's waiting arms and turning back, waving. Naruto stood up, and after waving with everybody else, turned and headed on home. Hinata waved with the same enthusiasm as Naruto, with Shino also sparing one, turning away quickly to join his teammates. Hands in their pockets, the team left with smiles on their faces, and hopes raised high.

"It's not everyday you encounter people like them," Tazuna exclaimed, stepping forward and wrapping his arm around his daughter, who smiled up at him. "That kid Naruto in particular… he changed Inari's heart, and reached out to the villagers in our time of need… and in turn, Inari helped change the hearts of all of us, and united us. That boy created a bridge of courage, which led to hope, and one that I hope, will lead to a happy, peaceful and prosperous future for us all. They all spurred on that motion of courage, and ensured our freedom."

"Hey…" Tsunami looked up at her father, her face beaming with excitement. "We haven't named the bridge yet."

"Oh, that's right!" Tazuna's friend exclaimed beside him, glancing at the family. "What should we call the bridge?"

A moment of pause was held between them all, as they gazed over the bridge towards the departing ninja. It was as they were watching the small group disappear into the distance, a smile spread across Tazuna's face, and he looked around at his family and friends.

"I know what we can name it," he said, looking back at the ninja. "A name that i know everyone will remember, _**The Great Naruto Bridge, **__"The Bridge that Courage built"."_ Tsunami giggled and nodded her head.

"That's a great name!"

Tazuna's friend chuckled and folded his arms. "It's perfect…"

The old bridge builder sighed and rubbed the back of his head, before placing his hands on his hips, smiling proudly. "I know it's a great name, because I know it will never crumble, and someday, I know it will be a name that will be famous world wide!"

Back with Team 7, Naruto couldn't help but smile to himself, as a wave of positive energy flooded through him. He knew that feeling well, and unbeknownst to him, a single tear fell from his eye. Hinata saw it and looked at him with concern in her eyes.

"N-Naruto-kun? A-Are you okay?"

The boy sniffed and wiped his eyes, before gazing over at the purple haired girl. "I-I'm fine, Hinata-chan…"

Haku, sensing Naruto's mood and spotting the tear, smiled at him happily, joy filling the teen's face. "Love is the most powerful force on this planet," the boy exclaimed. "_The fire that will never die_; a warm glow that envelopes even the darkest of hearts, happiness, joy and everything good ascends from it. For someone who has experienced great pain, it is an even greater gift…"

Naruto smiled up at Haku, before the boy was then enveloped in a hug by Hinata as they continued walking. The young Genin accepted her hug, and returned it. Kurenai smiled at him and wiped her eye as well, clearing a few tears that have also fallen. Zabuza smiled joyfully at the kids, the same light that was coming from them being received by him. He had to admit, it was a good feeling. Shino of course, couldn't bare it anymore, and started bawling with happiness.

"Oh… stop it! You're making me cry!" the boy exclaimed, shocking everyone in the area. Reaching under his glasses, he wiped away more tears, sniffing. "I'm NOT crying! There's something in my eye!"

"God, I wish I had my camera right now," Naruto exclaimed, a grin forming on his face, before followed by full blown laughter. Hinata joined him, and soon afterwards, was joined by Haku and Kurenai.

The group made it off of the bridge, and was on route for Konohagakure. All of them were looking forward to home, but the new pair who had joined their column was still at a loss. While heading on up hill and further inland, away from the low lands, Zabuza and Haku dropped out of their smiles and feelings of ease, and began to worry a bit. However, being ninja, they refused to show it outwardly, and instead, kept it bottled up. It was until they were out of sight of the channel and the great bridge that either of them decided to voice their concern.

"So… what should we do now?" Zabuza asked, stopping in his tracks with Haku. Team 7, sensing them stop, turned around, seeing the swordsman and his apprentice standing side by side with each other. "We got our pay and bonus for this joint assignment, so our share in this venture is over. The question for us now though, is what to do with ourselves, now that this mission is over?"

"W-What?" Hinata began. "Y-You don't know what you're going to do next?"

"Zabuza-sama and I have no where to turn to, and no home. We relocate every day to avoid capture from Hunter Ninja, and so life is really hard for us, day in and day out," Haku stated. "Since we are no longer partners, we are rogue ninja again. We cannot risk your safety because of us, so we have to go…"

"Not necessarily," Naruto said, turning to his old friends. "If you are willing to leave this life behind you, perhaps I can offer you better alternative…"

Zabuza and Haku looked at each other, before glancing back down at the Genin.

"What exactly do you have in mind?" Zabuza asked.

"If you are interested, I can help make you a member of our ninja forces in Konoha," Naruto said, folding his arms. "I mean, we have a lot of weirdoes walking around, one more wouldn't hurt. Plus, you'll be safe in Konoha, and you will get immunity from the Hidden Mist Village." Kurenai sighed and shook her head, knowing that she would be the one catching hell for this at the end of the day. At the same time, she was thinking how Anko managed to put up with him.

"Do you think that's wise?" Shino asked Naruto, now back to his usual persona, and looking at Naruto from under the shadow of his glasses. "Can you really push your luck so far?"

"If there is hope, there is always a chance," Naruto said, smirking, and placing his hands on his hips. "So… what do you say Zabuza… we can always use an extra hand to help around the village. You'll be great!"

Zabuza thought for a moment, and looked back down at Haku, who also exchanged a thoughtful look with his master. After receiving a nod from his student, the masked warrior chuckled and looked back towards the blond student, grinning behind his mask.

"Sure… why not…" Zabuza stated, slipping his hands into his pockets. "So long as I get to keep my rank then I won't have any complaints."

"That's fine," Naruto grinned. "You guys can stay with me until you can find a place of your own…"

It didn't take much of an argument to get Zabuza and Haku moving again, and soon enough, after a prolonged discussion and supplies, then continued on for Konoha. Allowing the pair to get ahead of them, Naruto and Hinata fell to the back of the formation, with the Hyuuga girl raising a small issue with her teammate.

"I-Isn't your apartment only suitable for two people?"

"Yeah," Naruto said with a sigh, looking up towards the sky in doubt. "I'm already sleeping on the floor, and my last futon was taken by you and Sakura. Haru's got the bed, and Ryoko, when she moves out of my bathroom, gets the couch." The boy rubbed the back of his head and groaned. "Man… this is going to be a long haul…"

Hinata smiled at him, and shrugged. "Maybe it's time t-to find a new place?"

"I think you're right…"

Just as they continued to walk through the forest, Naruto felt a pain in his stomach and he stopped, clutching his gut where his eight trigrams seal was. Hinata also stopped and looked at him with concern, the rest of Team 7 moving on with Zabuza and Haku. Naruto staggered, and was then supported by Hinata, the girl looking even more worried when she saw the pained expression on his face, the boy panting slightly and sweat trickling down his face.

"N-Naruto-kun! W-What…"

"I-It's nothing. Go on ahead… I'll catch up…" He looked up at Hinata and grinned. "Go on…trust me…" Still a bit uncertain, the girl nodded to him and detached from the boy, leaving him in the middle of the clearing.

When Hinata was nearly out of his sight Naruto let out a sigh and stood to his full height. Feeling a pinch of chakra escape him, he looked into the forest to his right. When he did, he saw a ray of light hit a clearing beyond the path and through the trees, and within it, he spotted two figures standing there, ones he distinctly recognized.

A tall, blond haired man wearing the Konoha Jonin outfit, with a white trench coat with red flames, and a woman with long flowing red hair, wearing dark blue robes with a dark red apron, and the man's arm wrapped around her shoulders. Both of them were smiling at him, the Naruto knew that he was really going to get something his way in the future. With a gulp he turned and approached the pair in the clearing. Pushing his way through the branches, he stopped right in front of them, slipping his hands into his pockets, and smiling.

"I know you two…" Naruto said, smiling slightly. "Ero-Sennin told me…"

The two figures nodded towards him, with the older man giving him one of his most recognized smiles.

"_Master always knew what to say to you when you were down, and even when you weren't, he always knew the appropriate things to say. It was one of his best traits, which was what he passed on in his teachings to you…son," _Minato exclaimed.

Naruto sniffed and wiped his eyes on the back of his sleeve. "B-But… why now?"

"_We had some time, so we came to see how our boy was doing,"_ Kushina said, stepping forward and leaning over to look her son eye to eye. The young woman grinned and reached out, patting him on the head. Naruto felt a little surprised by the touch, but when he expected to feel nothing, he felt warmth spread through him, which made him smile in return. _"You've grown so much… we've been watching, both your dad and me…"_

Naruto grinned at them and smiled, blinking tears away. "Since you're here, you have something important you need to tell me."

"_Pretty much…"_ Minato said, stepping forward and taking his wife by the shoulder again. Kushina sniffed and stood back upright, taking her husband's hand in hers and beaming down at their son. _"We only have a minute or so for this projection, so we'll make it quick. You know your teacher, Anko… right?"_

"Yeah,"Naruto nodded_._

"_Well, she needs help," _Kushina said firmly, lacing her hands together. _"The mark on her neck pains her still, the poison Orochimaru gave her remains, and leaves her vulnerable…"_

"What should I do then?" Naruto asked.

"_Return to your mother's homeland… there, you will find a solution," _Minato said, giving his son a serious gaze. _"You will know what it is when you find it; the Uzumaki Clan still has a lot of secrets hidden, and it is up to you to find them. But there are a lot of dangers ahead of you, and you will have to overcome them when they appear."_

"Dangers?"

"_I have planned this out from the beginning, but you still have to be careful," _Minato stated. _"What you find in Uzushiogakure may be more then just a solution to saving the village from destruction, but also the world…"_

"So basically I will be walking into a trap?" Naruto said, deducing from his father's words. He was warned by Jiraiya that his father did love to talk in riddles as a means of deception, and being his son who had just met the man now, he knew his own words when he heard them.

Kushina giggled. _"Yeah… I guess so. But hey… it's more fun that way." _The mother and son shared a grin, and Minato smiled, looking down at his head to see it begin to fade away.

"_Time's almost up,"_ he said, looking up towards his son. _"There are great trials ahead, son… so be careful."_

Naruto nodded his head affirmatively. "Right… dad…" He let out a sigh and groaned, giving his dad an odd look. "Man… never thought I'd hear myself say that…"

Minato chuckled, his voice now fading as well. Kushina shook her head, and gave her son a loving smile, just as her image began to fade away. _"It's so good to see you for the first time in years, Naruto. Just remember what we told you, and you will be fine. We're counting on you, son. We believe in you."_ Naruto quietly nodded, and watched as his parents' transparent images added away, and dissipated into the wind.

"Great trials ahead, huh?" Naruto looked down and pressed his hand against his stomach, feeling it twitch. _"My parents __**are**__ still with me. And they're telling me something…"_

Turning on his heel, he headed back to the dirt road that would take him back to his friends and to Konohagakure.

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	20. Moving Out

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Moving Out_

The specifically formed Team 7, along with Zabuza and Haku looked on with sweat-dropped expressions at the pair of ninja sitting tied up in front of them. When Naruto had managed to catch up with his group after his apparent brush with the chakra apparitions of his father and mother, he was presented with a rather peculiar sight. Encompassing the specific tree they had passed by earlier in the week on their way to the Wave Country, the group, for the second time, encountered the two brothers, The Demon Brothers, who had attempted to ambush them.

However, there was a minor difference in the situation this time.

Having completely forgotten about them after tying them up to the tree and having been left there for the whole week, Naruto, Hinata, Shino and Kurenai were now looking at a pair of rather disgruntled and embarrassed Chunin.

Wearing only their underpants and masks, Gozu and Meizu stared up at the people surrounding them, looking quite nerve-rattled and agitated.

"Well… it's about damn time!" Gozu grumbled, glaring up at the group. "Have you come to finish us off or rescue us?"

"Master Zabuza is with them, so it could go either way," Meizu replied.

"What the hell happened to you two?" Zabuza asked, arms crossed and looking down at the two youngsters with a raised ridge-brow.

"Where should I start…hmm," Gozu began, before moving in a sarcastic tirade vividly describing the entire scenario over the course of the past week. "It all began when you sent us on that mission to assassinate the bridge builder known as Tazuna on his way back to his country, and after seeing him being escorted by a group of kids and a kunoichi, we figured quote, 'Hey… easy prey. This will be no sweat,' unquote. My brothers exact words."

"We then tried to ambush them, just to be safe…" Meizu said, before glaring across at his twin brother. "Unfortunately, my dimwitted sibling here didn't account for the weather conditions earlier this month…"

"As a result we got found out, and that yellow haired brat did a dance routine on my head till I was knocked out cold…" Gozu snarled, glaring at the Genin responsible.

Zabuza snorted, while Haku suppressed a laugh. Team 7 on the other hand, was chuckling and giggling in amusement, all accept for Shino, but still, finding the story very amusing.

"After that I was yanked out of hiding and clothes-lined, before we were both tied up and had our wallets stolen!" Meizu said. "That was a five-hundred ryu wallet! I want it back!"

"Oh… sorry about that," Naruto replied, reaching into his jacket and pulling out the two leather cash and I.D card holders, and tossing them to the ground at their feet, before pocketing his hands again. "Please… continue…"

"Anyway… by the time we regained consciousness, our target was gone, and so were our weapons. As a result we couldn't escape and over the course of the next week, were tormented by various kinds of passer-byres!" Gozu began audibly shouting, obviously pissed at this point.

"We got crapped on by birds, peed on by wild animals, eaten alive by mosquitoes and ants, and had our clothes stolen by a bunch of hoodlums!" Meizu complained, before trying to adjust his sitting position. "And I've got an itch that has been driving me nuts for four days now, and I can't f#king scratch it!"

At this, Zabuza and everybody else except Shino burst out laughing. Gozu and Meizu were fuming where they sat, feeling a draft, and also a few other skin inflammations that were annoying them.

"IT'S NOT FUNNY!" Gozu shouted. "We are starving and we smell like shit!"

"Okay… alright… sorry," Zabuza chuckled, letting out a sigh and wiping a few tears away from his eyes. Of course, he knew the Demon Brothers were good lackeys, and did jobs without fail until they met Team 7. He couldn't just leave them out here.

After regaining his composure, he went around and cut the ropes, and gave them some C-Rations he still had on him. Gozu and Meizu inhaled the food in seconds, before wheeling on the group responsible for their misfortune. However, after speaking with their master and learning of the situation, and finding out the job has been completed (so to speak), decided to head on their own way, and after getting back their weapons, and a couple of ponchos from Team 7's supplies, headed back to Zabuza's old hideout which they had now inherited.

Pleased at the results, Team 7 and their allies then continued on their way to Konohagakure. They were through the gates within the hour, despite some small hassles at the gates, and proceeded for the debriefing within the next half…

* * *

_**Hokage's Office…**_

"Hmm…"

Sarutobi sighed and rubbed his aching forehead and sore writing-hand. For the past week he had been metaphorically kicking himself in the shin to find himself a successor before he died sitting at his desk from all the paper-work he was doing. Seriously, _Hiruzen Sarutobi: Loving Father, Caring Husband, Great Hokage, Workaholic (Death by Paperwork)_, did not look good on a tombstone.

Of course, it's the thought that counts. Instead of mellowing it over in his head, he looked back up at the tired Team 7 standing in front of him, including a happy-looking Haku, and a annoyed looking Zabuza standing behind them at sword-point, surrounded by the resident squad of on-duty ANBU Black Ops, his sword sitting in the corner.

"Okay…hmm…"

The Third Hokage furrowed his brow and looked from left to right at the group. He then passively and dramatically took his pipe out from his pocket, lit it and put it in his mouth. After several inhales and exhales of the delightful tobacco, he continued staring at Team 7, every so often emitting a murmur, and nodding his head.

He did this for the next twenty minutes.

After which he then took out his pipe and placed it next to him, before propping his head on his hands, and staring at the group. He then looked away and down the mission specs, and slowly licking his finger, turned the page.

"Uh-huh…"

"OH GOD! CAN WE JUST GO?" Naruto shouted.

"Mmm-hm…I see…"

"Honestly! This is pointless!" he yelled again.

Sarutobi let out a sigh and looked back up at them and shook his head. "Do I really need to ask what happened on the mission?"

"_**NO!"**_ Kurenai, Naruto, Hinata and Shino shouted at the same time.

"Naruto… if you're going to be bringing in random, dangerous missing-nin into my office on a routine basis, then maybe I should just put a list of specific forms related to you on a roller. Would that be fine?" the Third asked.

"Honestly, it wouldn't bother me," Naruto replied, shrugging. "But I still think it's a little bit excessive…"

"Uh-huh…" Sarutobi then looked up at Zabuza standing under watch by the ANBU, hands up and shown. The old man then furrowed his brow and pointed in his direction. "Zabuza Momochi… right?"

"Yes…" the tall man replied, returning the look given to him with his stoic one.

"Missing-nin and _Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist_ member, correct?"

"Yes…"

"Hmm…" Sarutobi leaned back in his chair and, twiddling his fingers in different ways, began thinking intensely. His gaze never left the group in front of him, and he remained in his seat for the next few minutes. Of course, the long waiting was getting even on the ANBU's nerves, and the group guarding Zabuza turned to stare at their great Kage, waiting for an answer.

"Mmm-hmm… interesting…" He then leaned forward in his chair and glared at the swordsman. "Let's try this again…you're Zabuza Momochi…"

"OH! COME ON!" Naruto shouted.

"You have got to be kidding, Hokage-sama!" Komachi shouted, lowering her blade and throwing her arms out, exasperated.

"Okay, okay… I'm joking…" the Third exclaimed, sitting up again. "I may be old, but I still love playing a little joke every once in a while…"

"Well… don't do that one again, sir," Kurenai stated.

"We thought you were stroking out there for a moment," Komachi continued.

"Ugh… can't have any fun around here," Sarutobi shook his head, before looking back up at Zabuza. "If you intend to join our village, then we're going to have to go through the standard foreign ninja protocol… again…" The Third then gave Naruto a dirty look, the boy putting his hands behind his back and whistling in response, rocking back and forth on his feet nonchalantly. "Don't worry… it's just a few hours of routine questioning and nothing more. We just need to fill in the blanks, as well as take measures to make sure your stay here is comfortable. Of course, you may find that this village isn't exactly like your own…"

"I've noticed that," Zabuza replied. "My village is dreary, wet and miserable, while yours is sunny, has outstanding architecture, and the ANBU here have mustard stains on their katanas…"

"Oh dammit… is it still there!" the masked ANBU standing behind the smirking swordsman muttered and looked down at his weapon. Using a piece of his clothing, he began trying to rub out the yellow stain at the end. "The maker said it was stainless steel! Stainless steel my ass!"

The Third Hokage felt like whamming his head on the surface of his desk again, but held himself back. Letting out a breath of air to compose himself the old leader of the village fixed his gaze on the ANBU again and quickly assigned them their orders. Simply speaking, he waved them out, and directed his words to Zabuza.

"The ANBU will take you down to Ibiki's Interrogation Center for questioning. If your intentions to join the village are true, then we will be able to fill in the necessary forms to have you join the Konoha Ninja Forces. I trust there are no complaints," Sarutobi asked.

"None whatsoever," Zabuza replied.

"Good…" With a hand wave, Zabuza was escorted out. During which, Haku went over to the wall and fetched the man's weapon, carrying it over to where Naruto and his friends were and propping it beside him, and leaned on its hilt. It was then, the village leader then glanced over at the boy and smiled. "So… I take it you are Zabuza's apprentice?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then I believe I should direct this next question to you," the Third continued. "Is your master's intentions true to his word, and to what the young man beside you is saying?" Hiruzen asked, while gesturing towards Naruto. The brown haired teen nodded his head affirmatively.

"I will bet my life on it."

"Excellent… so there will be no problems as far as that…" Sarutobi said with a nod, but then paused in mid-sentence, looking down at his desk in thought. "Even though he has no eyebrows, he reminds me of Kakashi…"

"What was that, sir?" Haku asked curiously, not really catching onto the words.

"Never mind," the old man sniffed and focused attention back on Team 7. "I will have the usual paper-work processed between us, so we can settle this situation as quickly as possible. But as far as I am concerned, the mission was a complete success."

"_**Yes sir!"**_ the Team replied, all of them nodding their heads, including Kurenai.

"Then congratulations, Team 7 is dismissed…" Sarutobi replied with a wave of his hand. As the group was walking out, the old man then smiled at the blond haired boy. "Oh, and I will send the new lease over to you as soon as I get it registered…"

"Thanks old man!" Naruto replied with a wave, before departing with Shino, Hinata and Haku, all of them helped to drag the giant sword out the door. Kurenai departed with a salute, leaving Sarutobi to his devices. However, just as he was returning to the work on his desk, the old man could have sworn he saw an orange and black tarantula follow the troop out the door, which made him do a sort of double take. Believing it to be just a trick of the light, he then proceeded on with business as usual.

The Third looked back down at his desk and flipped the mission specs over to the next form underneath, where he found the page Naruto had left in the file detailing his need for a bigger residence. The old Hokage chuckled and wheeled around in his seat, looking out the window.

"He will need a new building for his _new_ family… since it's getting quite a bit crowded," the Third mused. _"Let's hope he finds his old apartment still in one piece when he gets there…"_

* * *

_**Outside Naruto's Apartment…**_

"NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO!" Naruto shouted as he sprinted up the front stairs to his apartment block, easily breaking the 1500 meter sprint record when he caught a whiff of something familiar burning coming from this direction. Hinata was in absolute shock at the speed in which she watched her teammate run in. Shino was just as passive as always, and Haku was just confused.

As soon as Naruto burst in through the front door to his apartment, he received a face-full of smoke filling his lounge room. Huffing, he leapt for the kitchen, and when he swung in round the bend, he saw Ryoko standing over a completely destroyed stove, its gas line busted open and spewing fire, and the front completely blown to bits. The red-haired woman, in her first and failed attempt at cooking, had a pot on her head, and was wearing a white, over-sized t-shirt top over a pair of pale pink panties, and a maroon apron up front.

Little Haru was sitting at the table at the time of the blast, reading a book, but was now looking up at a scorched and shocked looking Ryoko, whose front side was completely blackened with ash, and holding onto a handle, which was the only remains of Naruto's treasured frying pan. Her surprise was indicated by the white of her eyes against the soot on her face.

"Something tells me that was the wrong ingredient," Ryoko said to herself, reaching up with a cloth and wiping her face down.

Blinking, the young woman turned around, and saw Naruto standing at the entrance to the kitchen, slack-jawed. Little Haru, watching her averted gaze, turned in the direction the swordswoman was looking in, and saw Naruto. Face lighting up, the Rinnegan girl leapt from the table and ran up to the unresponsive Naruto, and enveloped the boy in a big hug.

"Naruto-nii-san! Welcome back!"

"Y-Yeah… Little Haru …" Naruto murmured, subconsciously rubbing the top of the girl's hair.

Ryoko grinned sheepishly at the boy and waved. "Oh… hi roomie…"

"OOOOOOooohhh! What the hell, Ryoko!" Naruto groaned, hobbling into the kitchen with Haru clasped around his leg now, and stopping in front of the smoldering stove. Snatching what was left of the frying pan out of her hand; he looked down at the handle and sulked. "This was a present from Rin-chan she gave me on my 4th Birthday… said I would need it one day. Now look at it, the _Greasy Flat Head_ is now a _Greasy _Nothing!"

"S-Sorry about that," Ryoko replied, pressing her fingers together and looking down in shame. "I…I didn't know… I was just… trying to cook up something…"

"(Sigh)… that's okay, Ryoko…" Naruto replied, tossing the handle away and placing his hands on his hips, while inspecting the damage. "They were old; I was planning on replacing them…" He then noticed a cook book sitting on the kitchen desk beside him in an area that wasn't scorched, and picked it up; curious as to what the swordswoman was making that would cause the stove to cave in the way it did. He raised an eyebrow at the section she had it opened to. "Chapter 1 of Jiraiya's Erotic Cook Book: A Beginners Guide to Cooking a Romantic Dinner…"

"THAT'S NOT MINE!" Ryoko shouted, snatching the book out of his hand and, opening the window, threw it out. After which, she turned away and began humming nonchalantly, rocking back and forth on her feet, and blushing heavily. "I was… trying to cook uhh… dinner for tonight…"

"And I was supervising!" Haru exclaimed, still clinging onto the boy's leg and smiling up at him. Naruto looked down at the girl and grinned, picking her up and, with incredible strength even for a Genin of his caliber, propped her on his shoulder. When he did, he ruffled her hair playfully again, earning a giggle from the Rinnegan girl.

"Well… at least you did a great job," Naruto stated, before glancing up at Ryoko again. "Don't worry about the stove, but I am still a bit upset about the frying pan… meaning I have to go shopping again later in the day…"

Ryoko looked at her feet in shame, but the blond walked over to her and thumped her in the arm.

"Aww, come on! Don't be like that! You're one of the toughest ninja I know! A little accident isn't should be such a big deal for you…" Naruto said, giving the older woman a bit more encouragement.

"It's not that… it's just…" Ryoko rubbed her arm and looked away, not only ashamed now, but also more embarrassed then ever. This was the first time the blond had seen the tough-as-nails swordswoman so down under the dumps, and she seemed very vulnerable at the moment. "I…well…I spent so much time as a ninja… as a tool used by my village leader… after all these years…I never learned how to cook a descent meal…" She blushed harshly and closed her eyes, upset. "I never learned… how to cook… or to act… womanly… not at all…"

"Hey… it's alright," Naruto said, stepping up to the girl and wrapped an arm around her in comfort. In spite of being half her size, the boy tried to maintain sincerity and as a person whom could listen to her plight. "Just because you're not like other women, doesn't make you any different. Take my sensei Anko for example; her place is a dump, she rarely dresses up, eats out most of the time, and is the biggest tomb boy I know. But even still, she does have her moments where her softer side makes an appearance…"

Ryoko wiped her eyes and looked down at the boy, blinking. "R-Really?"

"Sure. But don't tell her I said that," Naruto began whispering; now looking about looking a little bit scared. "She has a reputation to keep, and I'm not sure I'm in the mood of getting on her bad side."

Warmed up by his words, Ryoko smiled at the boy, and sniffed away the rest of her uncertainty and negative emotions. "W-Will do, gaki…"

"That's the spirit!" Naruto said, nudging her. Setting Haru down, he then walked over to the dining table and sat his butt in the nearest chair. It was at that moment, Hinata, Haku and Shino also entered the kitchen, with Hinata depositing herself in the nearest chair, and Haku excusing himself to use the restroom. Before he left, he waved to Ryoko on his way out of the room, earning a grin from the woman. Shino on the other hand just waited patiently by the dining room entrance, and watched the quiet commotion unfold before him. "Now while you're still in the kitchen, make me a sandwich. Let's start from the basics…"

"Okay…" The woman replied, rubbing her hands together and swooping over to the fridge. When she opened it, she began scanning what was left on the shelves. "Hmm… let's see, all we've got left is a half eaten packet of Kettles, a can of beans, two jars of pickles, half a roll, and a wrapped pie… which looks to be… apple! Yup…definitely apple! Oh… and an assortment of sauces."

"I have a packet of Kettle chips?" Naruto asked, looking over at the woman who pulled herself out of the fridge and shrugged in his direction. "Since when? And why is it in my fridge?"

"Dunno…"

A rapping at the kitchen window caught the group's attention, and Naruto, Ryoko and Haru looked in its direction to see Kakashi perched on the frame, giving them a wave. It was quite a surprise, especially since he was carrying something very familiar in his hands.

"Hi all…" He then held up the article in question. It was the cook book. "I believe you dropped this, miss…"

* * *

_**Later that day…**_

_**At the park…**_

It was around four in the afternoon, and after an hour or so of cleaning up his kitchen and depositing his bags back into his room, the blond and the residents decided to cool off for the rest of the day and spend some time around the park.

Naruto took Haru out to have some fun, and allowed her to go play around with the other kids on the playground, while he sat back on the bench and looked out for her. Ryoko, Haku, Hinata and Shino also joined him, with Hinata sitting beside him, leaning against his shoulder, Shino standing next to them, and Ryoko trying to order some ice-cream and buy a newspaper from the mini-kiosk on the side of the footpath near the entrance to the park.

Unfortunately or to her good fortune, she got distracted by a small collection of porno magazines next to the Sports section, and was reading through one precariously.

"Hmm… 10% off on Jiraiya's Complete Collection, plus a great deal on _**The Tale of a Gutsy Ninja**_… huh," she shrugged her shoulders, before turning over a page. The swordswoman kept the title of the magazine out of sight, which actually red _**Lesbian Weekly.**__"If I can get my hands on the next Erotic Cook Book, I'll be happy…OH HELLO!"_

The owner was looking at her oddly over the newspaper he was reading, but decided to pay the eye-patch wearing woman no mind.

As Naruto watched Haru play around with the kids and having a good time, Hinata nudged the boy and smiled at him.

"How do you think Zabuza-san will do in the Interrogation?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine…" Naruto replied. "Like all great ninja, they have a way of botching up a good questioning. Yamato just stares at you endlessly, Shikamaru's dad falls asleep, and anything they ask Zabuza goes through one ear and out the other. Besides, it's just a bunch of random questions, nothing to get so hyped up on."

While Naruto and Hinata were speaking with each other, Haku came along and gave them all ice-cream, even Shino. He then started speaking with the bug user, whom had decided to hang around since he didn't have anything better to do. Well, he really did begin to regret ever coming with them when Little Haru, secretly rounding up a bunch of kids, unexpectedly tackled Shino to the ground in a fit of laughter.

A flash from a camera drew Naruto and Hinata's attention around, where they saw Anko walking up with a grin on her face, and Sakura trotting not too far behind her.

"Jack Pot!" Anko exclaimed, taking the photo she just took of the pile-up on the usually stoic Shino, who was now squirming around underneath the kids, and pocketing it. "I'm saving this one for later…"

"Sensei!" Hinata exclaimed, waving at the purple haired woman heading their way. Sakura whooshed past Haku and the still incapacitated Shino, and glomped Naruto in a tight hug.

"Naruto-kun!" she exclaimed.

"Hey…Sakura-chan!" Naruto replied, returning the hug by picking her up and spinning, earning a laugh from the girl before putting her back down. "I missed you…"

"Same here!" the pink-haired girl replied, detaching herself from her teammate.

"How was your mission?' Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow at the girl. "Did you finish it successfully?"

"Yeah… but it was kind of boring," Sakura replied, relinquishing the boy's shoulders. "Those mercenaries did not cooperate whatsoever, so we had to bring them down. I got a few good hits in, even beat a couple of them one on two! How did your mission go?"

"Oh…so-so…" Naruto exclaimed, before gesturing over to Haku. "I picked up some old friends on the journey; two of them. That's Haku… and uhh… the other guy is at Ibiki's Place. You know, standard protocol and all."

"R-Really?" Sakura asked, looking over at the rather feminine looking teenager and blinking. She then looked back at Naruto and nodded in the stranger's direction. "Are they… crashing over at our apartment?"

"Well… yeah," Naruto exclaimed, shrugging. "But it won't be our apartment for long; I've got us a new place… one that is much more spacious! We'll be moving in later tonight, once old-man Hokage gives me the new lease."

"That's great!" Sakura exclaimed, throwing her fist up. "Hoosha! I hope I get a room of my own! This is going to be so awesome! I've never moved houses like this before!"

Naruto grinned and chuckled to himself, before looking back over at Shino to find him lying helplessly underneath a pair of kids, with Haru planting a mini flag on his back with a suction cup, declaring him _Haru's Mountain, _or so it read on the flag.

"_Well… it's more then spacious… I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when we get there…"_

* * *

_**Later that afternoon…**_

As the sun was beginning to set over the horizon, the Third Hokage personally lead Naruto, Sakura, Hinata, Haru, Ryoko, Haku and Anko to where the Uzumaki's new apartment was. He had collected the group from the small apartment, and telling them not to bother with the packing until tomorrow, took it upon himself to escort them to their new place of residence. Although Anko commented that she would be crashing over at the new place every once in a while, didn't really want to make any crack pot jokes about it.

The group was lead round the village and up a hill path behind the Hokage Monument Mountain. It was on the blind side of the cliff-sides, but not in complete isolation from the village or out of sight of it, the Third stopped off at what appeared to be the entrance to a mansion. Well, that was the group's first impression of it.

When Sakura and the others first looked at it, they received quite a surprise, noticing the inscriptions, _Uzumaki_ carved in the surface of the plaque board hung up above the entrance to the large home. Naruto grinned as he admired the three story structure, the classic archways, open windows, yellow framing and green tiling, not to mention the variety of statues built into every corner and apex. The main building was quite spectacular, and the other buildings that branched out of it made the structure look more like an estate. With half of it going into the side of the mountain, this left a large backyard circulated by a walkway, a large pond in its center, and bamboo and cherry blossom growths planted here and there. Although he couldn't see the rest of the building, Naruto assumed it had to be significantly bigger. He also marveled at the perimeter fences surrounding the estate, which was covered in sealing tags to prevent infiltration of any kind.

"I personally customized the security on the household," the Third exclaimed proudly, smiling down at the young blond. "Not to mention your parents placed a number of defensive seals on it themselves, just in case. Their fuinjutsu is much more advanced then mine though, which should make you feel more comfortable."

"Don't sweat it, old man… thanks a bunch," Naruto said, placing his hands on his hips. "I guess it's been a while…"

"It has…" Sarutobi said, looking back up at the building. "This was your parents' home away from home. The Kyuubi destroyed their old house, but they still had this one, built not too far away from the shack where your father kept you and your mother safe when he went to stop the Nine Tails."

"It's the thought that counts," Naruto replied, before looking up at the smiling Hokage. "You even changed the family name…"

"For your protection, your father's name was replaced with your mother's… so no one will be able to find out about their son," Sarutobi stated. "I hope that's okay with you."

"It's perfect." The blond then turned to look at his family of friends. "So… what do you guys think?"

"This is a palace!" Ryoko gawked.

"How can your parents afford a place like this, Naruto?" Sakura asked, looking down at the blond. The young Genin in question rubbed the back of his head and grinned in response.

"It's uhh… I can explain later when we're not outside where everybody else can hear us," Naruto said, before looking over at Hinata.

"I-It's incredible," Hinata murmured, smiling down at the boy. "You are really lucky, Naruto-kun. I never knew your p-parents were so rich…"

"They weren't exactly wealthy," Naruto pointed, shrugging off that little note. "It was a reward given to them for all their hard work… not to mention my mom spent all her life savings and inheritance from her old village to make this. She had big plans for our clan… but I don't think it ever came to fruition."

"Well… it is still very beautiful," Hinata smiled.

"Thanks a lot…"

"How many rooms are there exactly?" Haku asked, blinking as he looked the buildings over.

"Over fifty, from when I last counted," the Hokage said, before pointing towards the entrance they had just walked through. "We can look at them later. But first, there is one little note I think you should all be aware of. The barrier around these grounds is rare, specialized security, and can only be used on small scale in isolated places like this. Unlike Konohagakure, which has a security-alert barrier encompassing the entire village, including the sky, this estate uses an electric field barrier, almost like a prison cell, only it flows through not only the fences, but the air above it, meaning it forms a defensive, dome shield. The original owners put great effort into constructing it, and will only let those with a key through."

"Meaning only I and the Hokage have the key to this place, for now," Naruto pointed out, holding up his hand and pumping chakra into it. He showed the group a series of sealing patterns stretching over the back of his hand and the front. "However, it will recognize those who have accompanied me through it."

"Wow. That sounds quite elaborate," Haku exclaimed.

"It's an intelligent barrier, which came right out of Uzushiogakure," Sarutobi added. "We rarely use it though. It's quite complicated."

"Well, it's fine with me?" Anko exclaimed, grinning and placing her hands on her hips. "Good security, big place, spacious… it's got almost everything. Tell me though, Naruto … does this place have a hot spring?"

"Yup, around the back," Naruto said, thumbing over his shoulder in a notable gesture. "One of the other reasons my parents chose this spot, since it sits right over a hot spot."

Ryoko vanished in a cloud of smoke, like they do in many animated cartoons, leaving a dust outline of her standing in her place for several seconds before vanishing. The group watched as she ran up the front steps, and attempted to break into the door, but couldn't get in, even though she hacked at it with her sword. Naruto shook his head and followed after, with the rest of the group proceeding in his wake.

Things were looking up for everyone at this point…

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

* * *

**__****_Author's Note:_**

Character's killed/defeated by Naruto Uzumaki (Nightwalker) so far, method of death and instance: _Danzo _(Death by kunai gauntlet, Caught off Guard)_, Homura _(Death by Shuriken, Caught off Guard)_, Koharu _(Death by Shuriken, Caught off Guard), _Mizuki _(Death by Decapitation, Caught with his back turned), _Kajika (from the Naruto OVA: The Cross Roads) _(Death by possession and self-destruct, Defeated by Naruto, before being possessed), and for all the others, see the Bingo Book chapter during the Land of Waves arc.

And for those who need a refresh, yes this is a harem (light romance first). So far we have: Sakura, Hinata, Ino (still developing), Katsumi (from the Naruto Game) Ryoko... and a few others still under construction, meaning there are more to come.

Hope you've enjoyed the story so far and thanks for reading. Update will be coming ASAP.


	21. Land of the Uzumakis

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Land of the Uzumakis_

_**Three weeks later…**_

After the moving of Naruto Uzumaki's apartment to the new home behind Konoha's Central Mountain, basic routine seemed to return to the lives of everyone in Konohagakure. Team 7 went on several more D-Rank and C-Rank missions, rallying up wanted personnel, performing meaningful tasks for the community, such as clearing up gardens, walking dogs and babysitting, not to mention training.

Anko decided to put her team through a more rigorous training regime, so to increase their strength, and power them up, big time. She got them to individually fight her using only taijutsu, which put a lot of pressure on them, including Naruto. Sakura, not really as strong in taijutsu as her teammate, Hinata, had quite a bit of trouble getting to their level, whereas Hinata and Naruto barely managed to measure up to Anko's standards. She also got them to perform various chakra exercises, the most common of which was carrying a large boulder up and down the Konoha River right next to the water fall, where they could easily plummet over the side.

She figured the harder the better, and even got them to do the cliff-marching exercise with the boulder. The three of them ended up dead-tired at the end of the day, and would fall asleep wherever they fell.

On top of the missions and the extra tough training Naruto, Sakura and Hinata were put through, Zabuza and Haku, the new members of the Uzumaki family, had to adjust to their new life in Konoha. Haku seemed to cope well, and with encouragement from Sakura and Hinata, began to interact more with the civilians, and the rest of the Nine Genin graduates of the year. His application to become a ninja of Konoha was also filed through the Hokage, who slowly made plans for him to become a Genin of the ninja forces.

Zabuza, however, was not having such a good time, especially in the beginning.

Sure a lot of the ninja he met didn't trust him completely at first, and a lot of the people became terrified at the sight of him, but they all became used to seeing him over the next few days. He had the pleasure of meeting Kakashi and Asuma, and was rather creeped out when he was introduced to Anko, whose first words to him were, _'hello meat-sack…'_

He was a bit deterred by those words, and from that day forth learned to be wearier of the purple haired Jonin. But that wasn't the worst of it; the worst came when he got to Naruto's new place of residence and after taking a nice, long, hot shower in the second floor bathroom, while he was walking out with just a towel on, received a horrifying sight.

The mighty swordsman froze when he saw Ryoko standing right at the entrance, leaning against the doorframe with her sword in hand. Examining her fingernails, she then glanced over at the flabbergasted Zabuza and grinned.

"Why, long time no see, meat-sack…"

"Oh God… please tell me this is a Genjutsu!" Zabuza almost cried, slapping his hands together and attempting to defuse an illusion several times over. When his attempts failed, he slapped himself in the face, and pointed accusingly at the red-haired woman. "Naruto, if that is you, I swear…"

"Shut your mouth, corned-beef," Ryoko replied, standing up off of the frame and walking right up to the much taller man. Zabuza, unmasked, unarmed and wearing close to nothing, backed up in fear when she came right up to him. The woman twirled her sword around and brought it up to her old partner, prodding the tip of her blade right under his chin. "It's me… your one and only dear Ryoko, and _**your**_ worst nightmare…"

Zabuza gulped. "If it is you t-then… prove it…"

"Oooh… daring words," the woman replied with a grin. "Alright, I'll prove it…" she withdrew the sword and twirled it so that the blade pointed downwards this time, and showed the man the handle of her sword. "Say hi, _Aries…_"

"_Hello, meat-sack!" _the sword exclaimed, the metal rattling as it spoke. _"Long time no see, Zabuza: Demon of the Hidden Mist! Ha… the way you look now, you look nothing like a demon! More like a guy caught with his pants down!"_

"Kami… it is you!" Zabuza said. "I recognize that sword's voice."

"You better believe it!" Ryoko replied with a smirk. Withdrawing her weapon, she sheathed it back onto her back and glared hard at her old comrade. "Either way… it's great to see you again." With a swipe of her finger across his chin, she grabbed his towel and, turning on her heel, walked out of the bathroom, leaving Zabuza naked where he stood. "Always a pleasure, meat-sack…"

After watching the woman walk out of the room, the swordsman relinquished the air from his longs and collapsed against the nearest structure. Gripping his heart in his hand, the man let out a groan and turned around, heading back into the shower cubicle.

"Ugh… now I need a cold shower…"

After that encounter, from then on in, Zabuza carried around at least one kunai wherever he went, whether it was the hot springs or a formal.

Days went by as everyone adjusted to new life styles and daily patterns, not to mention becoming acquainted with one another. Things seemed to return to normal…

…until…

* * *

_**Later at night…**_

In a familiar apartment, somewhere in sight of the Hokage Tower of Konohagakure, Anko woke with a cry of anguish, and sat straight up in her bed. Sweating streams and panting, the woman reached up and grabbed the area of her neck where Orochimaru bit her, and implanted the mark, poisoning the rest of her body. Shaking like mad, the Jonin gritted her teeth and clenched her eyes shut, reaching up with a hand and pressing it over her forehead.

"_When will these nightmares end?"_ Anko wondered, rattling her brain for an answer. _"All of them are fragments of repressed memories… they just keep surfacing at random…I can't make out any of it!"_

"Rough night, sensei?" a voice spoke from next to the woman. Anko literally jumped and looked to her right to her window, where she saw the silhouette of a small figure leaning against the frame of her window, arms folded and eyes glaring at her through a pale white mask.

Of course, despite the half-red, half-white mask with eye-slot holes being the only identifiable trait of the person the purple haired woman could recognize, Anko also noted that the figure was wearing a large dish, straw hat with a metal plate sewn around the top, a light brown scarf worn around his neck, concealing the mouth area of the mask, and also wore a fur jacket, with orange shoulder areas, and black for the rest of it, including the pants and sandals, with white gauze wrapped around the ankle areas.

Anko blinked when she saw the young man, the bands of his headband waving in the wind, with the moon glowing brightly behind him, giving him a very mysterious and awesome appearance.

"Yeah… for the past couple of nights actually…" the Jonin replied to the question. She then raised an eyebrow at him. "You've changed your outfit, gaki…"

The short figure nodded, and tilted his head at the woman. Anko then realized she was alone in her room with the young teen and blushed, also noting she was only wearing a white singlet top and panties, and tried to cover herself. The blond however only scrutinized the mark on the apex between her shoulder and neck, and furrowed his brow.

"If the mark is beginning to burn again that means the time is drawing nearer," Naruto stated, hopping off of the window sill and landing in the middle of the room. He turned and walked up to the side of her bed, hands in his pockets. "Memories of the past are not only attempting to resurface, but Orochimaru is also planning something big, and I believe it will be of consequence to you and to those you are associated with if he comes to the village now. If the mark remains, it will cause great harm…"

"But I can't get rid of it," Anko stated, looking at the boy with certainty and a hint of fear. Perhaps the only time she was really herself was when she was alone with the boy. "Even the Third Hokage couldn't get rid of it! There are only a few ways to get rid of the Curse Mark; either have the owner remove it, have the source of the mark destroyed, or kill the one possessed by the mark!"

"The Curse Mark, although it is a juinjutsu, it is also a type of fuinjutsu in itself, which seals dark chakra inside of a person, and like all sealing jutsu, it must have come with a removal key," Naruto stated, surprising Anko with his statement. He turned a bit and gestured out her bedroom door. "I have an idea, but I want to talk this with you person to person…" He offered her a hand, and Anko, hesitant at first, took it, and was lead out of her room.

The pair took the conversation to the kitchen, and after making themselves some toasted ham and cheese sandwiches, sat down around the coffee table in the lounge room. Removing his mask and lowering his scarf, Naruto looked up at Anko as she nibbled on one of the toasty delights, and picked one up as well.

"So… what did you have in mind, Naruto?" Anko asked, looking at him curiously.

"You remember what old man Hokage said about the seals around my new home, right?" Naruto said, taking a bite out of his bread and swallowing it. "And you know the seal on my stomach that keeps my…umm… resident… inside me?"

"Yeah. If it counts for anything, I also knew your parents quite well, and I also know a lot about the techniques they used to use," Anko replied. "I was a Genin along with Kakashi when Minato and Kushina were Jonin. What's your point?"

"Let's start from here," Naruto stated. "I met them a couple weeks ago on our way back from Wave."

"Wait! You met the Forth Hokage and Kushina? That's impossible… I thought they were dead!" Anko said, taken aback by the Genin's statement.

"They aren't dead. Not yet," Naruto said, before placing a hand over his stomach, "The seal that keeps the Kyuubi safe inside me was made from their own chakra, and by extension, their life force. They insured that I could keep the demon in check by molding a part of their life force along with their chakra into the seal. Because of this, to this day they are both still looking out for me and preventing the Kyuubi from taking me over… even though I was able to fix it and improve the seal, they're still around."

"Isn't it a bit…uncomfortable for you to know that they can see everything you go through like… every day?" Anko asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"They're not around that often," Naruto replied, looking up at the woman through glowing blue eyes. That dead-man's look he usually had on in these moments was pretty much gone, and it made him look more human now. "They stay attached to this world by the chakra they left behind. The small doses they use allow them to pop in and out… basically like old memories… but they manage to keep in tune with everything that is going on. But in this world, the dead can't interfere with the lives of other people… it's unnatural…"

"I see…" Anko replied, looking down at the table in front of her. "But as long as we hold onto their memories, the ones we have lost aren't really gone… they survive with us. That's the only way the dead can communicate with the living."

"Well… when they came to see me, they told me of a solution to the Cursed Seal on your shoulder," Naruto said, earning a surprised glance from the woman. "I don't really know what it is, but if you want to find out, then we have to return to my mom's homelands…"

"You don't mean…?"

"Uzushiogakure… my Clan's Village…"

"But isn't that long gone now?" Anko asked. "The last I heard, the country was destroyed after the last couple of Great Wars. The only survivors disappeared to the farthest corners of the Elemental Nations. Heck, even a few of them went overseas to the East to explore the lands beyond…"

"Yeah, but the ruins are still there," Naruto replied. "The village held many secrets in its days. My parents said I can find an answer in there and maybe something more…"

"Like what?"

"My father spoke of a great event that will befall the lands, one that could destroy the village, and perhaps doom the world," the blond said, thinking hard about what his father meant. "Dad was a smart man; he wouldn't do or say anything without good reason. He has been known to even set out plans that could be activated several years into the future, even in his absence. I believe there are a few things he left lying around that he knew, and he is trying to tell me…mom too."

Anko blinked, looking at Naruto with great thought and consideration. Right now, a great battle was going on inside of her head, a battle of memories, beliefs, ideals and present thought. Naruto watched this take place in her eyes, and in the time it took for Anko to reach a decision, a good quarter of an hour passed them by. It was after finishing her toast, the woman smiled through closed eyes, and set her sights back on her young student.

"I trusted your parents beyond anyone else, your father in particular," Anko exclaimed. "I had only wished he was still around to face Orochimaru…" She nodded her head, tilting her head at him. "Whatever plan you have, I'll follow you with it, gaki…"

"Good…" Naruto stood up. "Pack your bags, we head off now…"

He walked around the table and, stopping beside the woman, crouched next to her. He smiled at her, giving the woman a rather friendly gaze… too friendly. Anko blinked in confusion, only to shiver in response to his warm hand pressing against her cheek.

"If only I was a little older…" Naruto grinned. "You truly are a strong woman, Anko-sensei."

Without another word, he slipped his mask over his face. With that, he slipped out of sight, heading towards the hallway, and the entrance to the apartment. Anko was speechless, a light coloration of red growing on her cheeks, and she remained seated there for a good five minutes before she got up to go pack.

Naruto, reaching the front door, unlocked it and removed the seal over the lock, and opened it. When he did, he found Sakura, Rock Lee, and Ino standing outside, hands in pockets and waiting patiently, well… most of them anyway.

"YOSH! NARUTO! MY GOOD FRIEND! HOW ARE YOU THIS LOVELY MORNING!" Lee exclaimed happily, raising a hand in a show of his positive mood. Sakura and Ino sighed in exasperation at the boy, before gesturing toward him.

"Naruto-kun… who is this weird guy and why is he with us?" Ino asked.

"Oh, don't look so surprised, Ino… Naruto-kun knows a lot of strange people, you should be used to it by now," Sakura said, folding her arms.

"Well, unlike you, I'm not on his team!" Ino grumbled, before turning back to the blond and smiling. "What did you wake us up for that was so important Naruto-kun? I mean, I don't mind seeing your face first thing in the middle of the night, it is rather pleasant… not to mention quite a bit intimate but… what prompted you to break into my room so suddenly?"

"I'm no Romeo, although I did improve that little maneuver of his," the boy replied, stepping out into the corridor outside of Anko's apartment. He noted the fact that all three of them had brought along with them their bags, just as he had instructed. This was a great start. "It's a super secret S-Rank mission that I myself got the Hokage to approve. We are heading for the Land of Eddies… otherwise known as the Land of Whirlpools, on an Intel mission to Uzushiogakure…"

"Sounds like a pretty big job, Naruto-kun!" Lee exclaimed, smiling. "I heard that village was wiped off of the map!"

"Sure… on everybody else's map!" Naruto said, smiling under his mask. "But certainly not on mine."

"The purpose of the mission?" Sakura queried.

"To help our sensei… and save the village from a future danger."

"Who from?" Ino asked.

"Orochimaru…"

"You see, it's _that_ kind of stuff that is classified," Ino said with a sigh, rubbing the back of her head. "You really are something else, Naruto-kun. You know so much more about these places, yet not enough at the same time."

"Well, let's take a look at my faults," Naruto began, leaning up against the doorframe, and holding up a hand to count on his fingers. "I suck at Genjutsu, I don't know any long-range Ninjutsu, I hate vegetables, I was terrible in most history lessons back in the Academy, not to mention Mathematics and Science, and I don't like oranges, but for some reason I wear orange!" The boy pinched the scruff of his jacket at the shoulder. "I mean… it's a light-bulb in the dark… I can really suck at these things sometimes."

"Try to keep your head up high, Naruto-kun!" Lee said, giving him the thumbs up and grinning. "After all, it is unyouthful to point out your flaws so thoroughly!"

"Okay, seriously, who are you?" Ino asked, turning to the boy, who gave her a friendly smile. "I've never even seen you before in my life; just what team are you on?"

"Oh, sorry," Naruto said, stepping into the middle of the small, obviously befuddled group. He lightly took Ino's hand, and gestured to the bowl-head boy with the big eyebrows. "This is Rock Lee, taijutsu specialist and local squad-member of Team Gai, also one of the best guys I know. He's a year older then us, but definitely a great friend to have around when you're in a bit of a pinch…"

"Nice to meet you!" Lee exclaimed, bowing so low Sakura and Ino were actually worried he might snap his spine. "Yosh! Your shoes look excellent tonight!"

"Okay, maybe I should make a point that coffee isn't good for us at this age," Sakura said, smiling a bit in amusement.

"This mission isn't just an opportunity for us to get to know each other, but it's a mission where we can learn," Naruto stated affirmatively, looking between his friends one after the other. "Learn from experience, learn from each other, and learn from the world. This is going to be great, I know it!"

"Yes it will be!" Lee replied happily, bumping fists with Naruto and looping his arm around the blond and Ino. Both of them smiled up at the very hyperactive shinobi. "An excellent bonding experience! Like Gai-sensei always says, 'keep your friends close, and spread the heart and soul of youth to everyone around you, for it is eternal!'"

"Right… heh-heh…" Ino chuckled nervously.

Sakura suddenly came in and wrapped her arms around Naruto's arm in a love-filled embrace. She affectionately rubbed her cheek against his shoulder and grinned at him.

"That's plenty of time for us to spend together…" she exclaimed. She was then shoved aside a little, and Ino came in to embrace Naruto as well, hopping onto his back.

"That's right… just you and me and a tent, Naruto-kun!" Ino whispered, directing it to the Genin in particular. Naruto groaned and whimpered under the attention, and almost let out a wail when both the girls started grabbing his arms and attempted to pull him apart… metaphorically.

"That is the positive energy I am talking about!" Lee said, thumping Naruto in the shoulder. "Awesome!"

"Geez what is going on out here?" Anko's voice came through the door, followed by the woman herself, who frowned down at the kids. "If I didn't know any better, I've got the loud-mouths joining me on this mission…"

Naruto, Sakura, Ino and Lee grinned at her at the same time, and with a shake of the head, Anko rubbed her right eye clear.

"Give me a break… this is going to be the longest assignment ever… (sigh)…"

* * *

_**Somewhere in the Land of Fire**_

By the time the sun was rising above the mountains on the horizon, the specially formed Team 7 for this mission was already outside of the village boarders, and heading for the Land of Waves again. However, they trekked a few degrees northwards, following an old path on the map that would surely lead them to the coastline across from the Land of Whirlpools. This route took them off of the main road and down another one that lead into the lowlands that hasn't been used in decades.

The forests around this particular path were thicker, and the trees were much larger, giving the team more scope on the situation as to the environment they were more than likely to encounter.

Due to the very early wake-up call and morning, the members of the team were set in different moods. While Lee was really cheery and marching along without any complaints, Ino was trying not to fall asleep where she stood, and Sakura was still rubbing the sand out of her eyes. Anko was used to long shifts, and was currently having breakfast on the move; a pack of dango she took from her fridge. Naruto was the same, snacking on a protein bar, but having a bit of negative reaction to it.

"Bleh… how can people eat this?" Naruto groaned, swallowing whatever was in his mouth. "It's like… coconut cake mixed with gravel that's been left outside for a month… or two, and gone stale! Yuck!"

"It's a standard nutritious snack, C-Ration from the pack," Anko exclaimed. "I admit it's not tasty, but it fills you up."

"I don't usually carry one with me… but… yuck!" Naruto shook his head. "I decided to try it for this journey, so I guess I should finish it."

"Waste not, what not, Naruto!" Lee exclaimed, giving him the thumbs-up.

When the team stopped on top of a hill overlooking the coast lands below, they were able to get a great view of the late morning, as well as where the ocean met the earth. The sight overlooking the lowlands was almost like standing atop of a plateau, and looking over a lush, untouched landscape. As they gazed out across the wide open countryside and over the horizon, Sakura saw something in the distance and nudged Naruto next to her. When he turned, she pointed towards the object of her attention.

"Hey, look at that bridge, Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed. "It's huge!"

"Heh! Yeah, it really is!" Naruto replied, placing his hands on his hips and smiling at the sight. "They sure have put a lot of work into it…" _"And it's busy too."_ The blond concluded in his thoughts, seeing a convoy of carriages moving back and forth across the bridge leading into the Wave Country, as well as the amount of ships passing through.

"Wow…" Lee exclaimed, putting his hand on the bridge of his brow and leaning forward to get a better look. "What a thriving community!"

"It was a completely different place a few weeks ago," Anko exclaimed, smiling down at her spiky haired student standing beside her. "Guess they have you to thank for that…"

Naruto grinned up at his sensei and rubbed the back of his head, acting bashful. "Aww…shucks…"

After admiring the view of Wave Country that was south down the coastline, the group then averted their gaze up the coast towards the north. Pulling out a pair of binoculars, Anko began inspecting the horizon. Along with coordinates retrieved from the map, she took note of the various landmarks, and then looked further out over the ocean to locate the island. Through the mist that hung over the area of calm, blue water she was looking over, she spotted the Land of Eddies. Lowering her goggles, she judged the distance, and nodded her head.

"Found it," Anko said, slipping her binoculars into her pocket, "the Land of Whirlpools; neighboring country to the Land of Wave, which also used to be a provenance of the country, mind you. It should only take us about half-an-hour to reach the land by boat…"

"That's cool," Ino exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips. "I can't wait to see what the land is like. I bet it's breathtaking."

"Oh yes… so the history books say," Anko replied, smirking. "But there is more to the Land of Eddies then meets the eye. It's not just an island dominated by hillsides, with great channels of rivers and what not; it also takes in the mists known to form around the Land of Waves. Not to mention the island of Whirlpool has magnificent swirls forming at its coast… hence its name."

"Hmm… wouldn't mind a surf on its beach if we've got time," Sakura suggested, shrugging her shoulders.

"Maybe if we finish early," Anko said. "Come on kids, we've got a mission to complete…"

Together, the group then began their march downhill towards the coastline. It didn't take them that long, and soon they were standing outside a small fishing port beside a small village. Wandering about the markets a bit just for the heck of it, specifically on Naruto's behalf, who was looking to wash the bad taste protein bar out of his mouth with some good apples or water melons. He eventually found a reasonably priced booth, and started buying out some of the fruit. Anko, Lee, Ino and Sakura fanned out around the open air store, and also looked through some of the exotic fruits being sold.

Most of them veered away from the durian section, which was stinking up one heck of a storm on the left side of the stand.

"Seriously… you can't get anywhere near that stuff!" Sakura groaned, waving a hand in front of her face. "How on earth can you even eat that?" Ino nodded in agreement, while Anko just scrunched her face up a bit in displeasure. Naruto snorted and walked over to the spiky fruit.

"Easy… watch!" Naruto exclaimed, looking over the durian and checking their ripeness.

He bought a couple of apples to go with the durian he bought, and walking over to the rest of his team, who were pinching their noses, ripped open one of the fruit with his bare hands and took a bite out of the fleshy core. Sakura and Ino looked on with shocked expressions as the blond groaned in delight and smiled at his astonished friends.

"It's like a freshly cooked chicken stuffed with sweet raspberries…"

"Oh! Let me try some, Naruto!" Lee exclaimed. Naruto handed him a fruit and the fuzzy-browed Genin ripped it open as well. He took a bite, and the moment the taste hit the boy's tongue, it was as though he had found a new love. "WOW! Such an exquisite taste! What a wonderful delight! It's like a series of fruits bursting inside my mouth!" The bowl-haired ninja danced on the spot, hugging the fruit. "AMAZING!"

"Honestly, you _**are**_ too much," Ino said, staring oddly at the sight of the spandex wearing, green beast, before looking over at Naruto. Her face turned a series of blue, green and pale when she unexpectedly came nose-to-surface with the fruit Naruto was holding out to her, and she literally leaned back at a 90 Degree angle away from the fruit and the visible odor lines it gave off.

"Come on, Ino… trust me… it's really good," Naruto said with a smile, watching as the girl stared at the fruit with a mixed horrified and sick expression.

"Uhh…n-no thanks…" Ino replied through a pinched nose.

"Hey… it's okay…honest," Naruto chuckled, holding a hand out to her and pulling her back towards him. He literally pulled her so close that she was chest to chest with him. The bleach blond blinked and blushed when her face came right up to his, causing Sakura to fluster furiously behind them in jealousy.

Naruto leaned in and whispered to the girl. "Hey… have I ever given you a reason not to trust me before?" he asked, smiling. Ino blinked, the words he was giving her at that moment meant for her and her alone, and she was hearing every syllable. The blond grinned at her and placed his forehead against her, the action seen only by Sakura standing beside her, while Lee was still consuming the durian in his hands and Anko looking around, taking interest in the other sites. "This way is the best way you can develop trust between comrades, for extremely dangerous missions. When you know no one else is going to help you, you can always depend on your teammate."

The pale blond considered his words for a full minute, then looked down at the fruit he held her. Clenching her nose and taking the fruit, the girl risked it all, and took a bite. Expecting to regurgitate the moment the fruit hit her lips, Ino got quite a surprise when she found that when she ignored the smell, the fruit was actually really good.

The girl let out a happy exclamation and looked up at Naruto.

"Hey! This isn't half bad!"

"I told you so…" Naruto said, nudging her and stepping back. "You can never know if it's good if you don't try it…" Swinging around Ino, he walked over to Sakura, who was still looking a bit flustered from the moment. However, she seemed to cool down when Naruto began shining attention on her again.

"You know, Naruto-kun," Sakura began, watching as Naruto returned with an apple in hand. He offered it to her, and the pink haired kunoichi took it with a smile of gratitude. "I'm starting to think you're developing a thing for Ino…"

"I'm just trying to make nice," the spiky haired ninja replied, smirking. "What? Jealous?"

"Yeah…right!" Sakura leapt at him and glomped him. "As long as I'm your number one, I'm willing to share!"

"Right…sure…" Naruto wheezed, face turning blue from the tightening hug of his pink haired teammate. Anko snorted when he saw the boy's expression, and shook her head. "Can't… breathe…"

"Oh… sorry!" Sakura released her, and watched him stagger and gasp for air in amusement. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah… just fine, Sakura-chan!" Naruto waved, stretching straight up again, his back audibly cracking. "Wow… you're getting incredibly strong. Guess the training with Anko is really working out for you."

"Damn right it is!" Sakura said, clenching a fist and flexing her arm. "I can crack boulders in two with my strength…"

"_If that's the case… then I'd better avoid making her angry," _Naruto thought while grinning sheepishly at his pink-haired teammate. He looked at her with more then just admiration and lovingness in his eyes, but also respect for the girl. Like Hinata, he had watched as the girl trained hard with them in an effort to improve herself, getting stronger each day, catching up with him. The blond couldn't help but notice this more and more, and felt even more drawn to her then ever for the strength she displayed. _"She's a really remarkable girl…"_

After standing around for a bit longer, Anko gave them quick verbal directions and they headed toward the docks, where they hoped they could hire out a boat. But just as they started moving, Naruto noticed something out of place over at the fruit stand, and stopped in his tracks. Ino glanced behind her and fell back from the others, who continued on for the jetty.

"Naruto-kun? What's wrong?"

"You guys go on ahead, I'll catch up," Naruto said, waving a hand at her.

Blinking, the pale blond nodded in response, and followed after the rest of the team, leaving Naruto to observe the scene before him.

The blond stood by as he watched a young girl trying to buy food from the fruit stand. Sure, Naruto saw her buy her supplies, but she ended up receiving too little change for the usual rates being charged. The man told her to 'move along' so to speak in a not-so-friendly manner, with Naruto also catching the words 'I don't do business with monsters', which really made the blond frown in distaste. He looked on silently as the purple haired girl wearing blue, tattered clothes and wrapped in bandages walked off, head low and looking really hurt.

When she was out of ear shot of the store clerk, Naruto marched over to the booth. Just as the stand owner was getting back to his business, the young shinobi silently leapt up onto the counter and without a show of restraint, grabbed the man by his shirt and pulled him towards him, lifting him up a couple of feet off of the ground.

Naruto glared kunai at the terrified man from behind the shadows of his wide-brimmed armored hat and over his highly worn scarf. The store clerk was shaking where he dangled from the boy's grip.

"What the hell was that?" the boy roared at the man.

"I…I… whe… I don't know… what you mean… young man…" the middle-aged man stammered, now beginning to sweat bullets.

"You know full well what I mean, shit-eater!" Naruto shouted, now throttling the man by the scruff of his neck. "That poor girl… you charged her way too much for those fruit, and you fucking ridicule her further! Who the hell do you think you are?"

"I…she…you see… she's not normal! S-She's not even human…" the man replied.

Naruto growled through his canines and brought his free hand up. With a jerk of his wrist, his hidden blade flew out, and shone in the light right in front of the man's face.

"There are only two kinds of people on this planet: people, and shit-stains who hate the others who are different from everybody else!" Naruto hissed. "Nothing gives you the right to treat a person like that, or say things to hurt them! Just who is she that makes her so different?"

"S-She… that girl … is… a monster!" the man stuttered. "Those bandages she w-wears… hides her true self! The s-skin of poison…"

"SHUT UP! Where does she live!"

"A shack down on the beach…"

Having enough, Naruto took the man by the collar and tossed him outside of his stall, where he landed hard on the ground several feet away. The blond hopped off of the counter and walked by the dazed and pretty much unconscious fruit salesman, and while he passed him, reached into his back pocket and took out the small bag of ryu he had on him.

"I'll take this as compensation, and I hope you will take the time to reflect on what I've said to you today," the Genin replied, and quickly headed on after the girl, leaving the store clerk behind, eating dust.

The young ninja took a different route to the rest of Team 7, with Anko bartering a small boat from a local fisherman, and along with Sakura, Ino and Rock Lee, began preparations to set off for the Land of Whirlpools. For everything she knew about her roguish student, she knew that other tasks often called him away from time to time. Like she said to Kakashi last month, _'Naruto is like that'_.

* * *

_**Elsewhere…**_

_**Up high on a cliff overlooking the Eastern Coast…**_

The actions of the socializing Team 7, as well as their preparations to set off, did not go unnoticed by a small number of onlookers, looking out over the ocean towards the Land of Eddies. Grouped in an uneven formation, or more like scattered around the pinnacle of the cliff, there sat a group of what appeared to be Kumogakure ninja.

The three Genin sat or stood around the very edge, watching Team 7 intently as they took the boat out to see and headed for the island. The head of the young group, who was standing behind the other two sitting on the edge, was a fair-skinned, blond, short-haired girl, who wore a grayish, low cut outfit, with ninja mesh underneath, a short skirt of the same color, and red wrist bands and leg bands, which she wore like stockings. She also had a visibly sizable bust (similar to Hinata in Shippuden), and a large machete sheathed behind her at her waist. Her female teammate sat directly in front of her, a dark-skinned girl who had red hair and yellow eyes, wore a dark grey robe that stopped just above her ankles, with a khaki fabric belt, and a white flak vest worn over it. She also had kunai pouch, and a katana strapped on her back. Their last teammate, who sat next to the red-haired girl, was also of dark complexion, had white, short spiky hair, a dark green hooded jumper with black track pants, a white flak jacket, and shin guards over a pair of boots. He also had a katana sheathed on his back, and had a lollipop in his mouth.

The kids, wearing the forehead protectors of Kumogakure ninja, watched as Team 7 sailed away on the small vessel, while their sensei stood over them, watching through a pair of binoculars. Their Jonin sensei was dark-skinned like his other two students, was well built, clean shaven, and had tattoos on both his shoulders, had whitish hair combed and held back by a forehead protector, wore a light-brown scarf, a khaki Jonin vest, black trousers strapped down by white gauze, and wore a red belt sheathed with six, tanto blades around his waist. He also had five katanas strapped to his back, wore black combat boots, and a pair of sunglasses.

With a murmur, he lowered his binoculars.

"Their go them Konoha fools, over to the Land of Whirlpools," he recited from the top of his head to himself, smirking and glancing over to his left. "So how do we make the throw down today, if I may ask?"

Seemingly appearing out of nowhere, a cloaked figure stood by them, also watching Team 7 row out toward the island. This person wasn't a part of the Kumogakure team, and was certainly no local. The figure was about two thirds the size of the Jonin leader, much shorter in comparison, and had an appearance masked completely by the black cloak, which had red cloud patterns outlined in white on several parts of it. Furthermore, the hood and higher collar completely masked the face from the sunlight, the only visible skin being the nose.

The figure turned and looked up at the Jonin; whether the person was frowning or smiling, was unknown.

"Complete discretion… you are to perform your task as I have instructed," the figure, whose calm, collected voice was revealed to be female, spoke, at the same time, she held out a scroll to the taller individual. The Jonin took it, and continued to listen to their identity withheld client for further information. "The scroll will tell you. Remember… _do not_ kill them. You are to engage them and attempt to disarm or incapacitate them until such time the _Nightwalker_ reveals himself…"

"And… what do we do from their?" the shinobi asked curiously. "Do we leave them to your care, yo?"

"Read the scroll," the woman replied, reaching up from under the collar of her cloak and lifting up her hood a little bit. "However…if I _**was**_ to take them off your hands, my identity and well-being would be in jeopardy." When she raised her hood enough to let some light in, the Jonin was able to see the young female's left eye clearly, and when he glanced at it, saw the unmistakable sight of a Sharingan. However, instead of a red iris and black tomoes, he saw the reverse, a black iris with a red pupil and red tomoes circling it. "The _Nightwalker_ has seen me before… and recognition is something I cannot allow…"

The tall Jonin smiled. "Yo… that is one funky eye you have got. That 'ought to win yah the fight on the spot!"

"It is a handicap… yes," the woman replied, lowering her hood. "But it is an accursed bloodline." She turned on her heel, and headed off for the shadows of the woods behind them, leaving the Jonin following after her with his eyes. "You've got your mission… so if you please… complete it…"

"Hey yo! Miss!" the Kumogakure ninja said, turning towards her. "What's yer name, sis?"

The cloaked woman stopped in her tracks and glanced behind her. However, she only spared the young male a glance, before turning away and staring ahead of her.

"I've let my name lie long ago…" she replied, before smiling underneath her collar. "Oh… by the way… I love your rapping…" The ninja flickered away into the win, vanishing through a fade out effect.

Killer Bee grinned and fisted his hand around the mission scroll. "Right on!"

"Sensei… the Hidden Leaf ninjas are nearly out of sight!" Samui said, glancing behind her at their teacher. "Should we pursue?"

"With all due haste, students!" Killer Bee exclaimed, pointing at them. "Omoi, Karui, Samui… move out!"

"Yes, sensei…"

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	22. Hunters

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Hunters_

_**Along the beach…**_

Naruto stood at the front of the shack he had learned the location of, looking at it up and down with a very displeased look on his face. He noted all the graffiti painted across it, not to mention the repairs made and the damage that still showed on the wooden walls, roof and framework. He also saw that the graffiti painted all across the outside of the building formed visibly identifiable words, a lot of them were very inappropriate and a lot made Naruto fume on the inside.

He let out a sigh and shook his head, the scene before him being almost reminiscent of his past, only made different by the fact that he was able to defend himself. He was not going to have another repeat of the past inflicted upon somebody else; he was not going to let this go on…

Stepping over debris and stone, the boy made it to the front door and without hesitation, knocked on it. It was on the third knock he received an immediate response.

"Go away… leave me alone…"

"Sorry… but I've come to see the owner," Naruto replied calmly, knuckle still held up toward the door. "I got curious…and…"

"I don't care! Please leave!"

"I just want to talk," the blond continued to persist, desperately wanting to meet this girl, but not showing his emotions outwardly. "I saw you down at the market by the fruit stalls, and I saw how that clerk was being unfair with you." He held up the small leather money purse he was carrying with him and shook it, the coins jingling inside it. "I've come to give you the rest of your change back…"

He didn't receive any response for the next minute or so, and if his senses were accurate enough, he knew the girl was checking out her guest from a safe place where he couldn't see her. However, with the heightened senses of a shinobi, he knew he was being watched.

Another minute later, he heard a series of clicks of locks being undone, and a second later, the door in front of him opened.

It was just a crack, but the blond could see the girl's face peering out at him. She looked quite timid, around his height and age, and as he saw her, was covered in bandages. Of course, his sense of smell told him that she wasn't sick or ill, and that she looked perfectly normal. He smiled slightly at her when she opened the door to greet him.

"Hello," Naruto exclaimed in a friendly manner.

"Y-You're not here to hurt me, are you?" the girl asked, now with her voice being fully audible, sounded quite cynical in nature, and not at all timid. The blond was able to discern from that easily. "Because I'm tired of you lot coming around to pick on me."

"I'm not here to cause you any trouble," the Genin replied, before holding at the small bag to her. "Although… a nice cup of tea would be very nice…"

The girl frowned at him, and looked him up and down suspiciously. She spotted the bag and reaching out, snatched it from his grasp and withdrew her arm immediately. The moment she did so, she shut the door in his face.

The purple haired girl sighed and looked down at the bag in her hand, while still standing safely behind her front door. Opening it, she poured out its contents, finding quite a handful of gold coins, way more then the amount she was expected to receive, or even paid for over the week. In fact, this appeared to be the fruit stand's profits made from this Monday. This thought made the girl frown even more, her mind wandering into the not-to-distant future, and quickly retrieving the knowledge that she was going to be catching hell for this later on from the villagers.

Deciding to put it away for now, she turned to head back for her lounge room, only to jump at the sight of the Genin standing right behind her, facing her. She fell back into the door, and stared wide-eyed and fearfully at the masked ninja, panting rapidly and heart racing.

"Now… how about that cup of tea?" Naruto asked, turning on his heal and heading into the lounge room, removing his wide-brimmed hat. Setting it down on the floor around a fire place, the blond also sat down and relaxed back on a pillow. He looked around the place, finding it quite cozy compared to the outside, which literally shouted 'go away'. "Wow… nice place…"

The girl moved from the hallway and into her little lounge room as well, watching and listening to the blond shinobi as he sat himself down next to the fireplace, helping himself to her valuable space. Uneasily, she moved around him, and stood in plain sight of his eyes.

Naruto looked up at her, smiling still. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, ninja from the Village Hidden in the Leaves. What's your name?"

"Isaribi… just Isaribi," the girl replied, still looking at the by wearily, not really trusting him. "You're really a ninja then, huh?"

"Yeah… oh… don't worry about anything; I didn't come here on any bad intentions, honest," the boy said, raising a hand and patting the empty space beside him. "I'm just on a mission to the former Land of Whirlpools. I saw you and… well… I just came by to talk to you…"

Still not willing to completely open up to the boy, the girl named Isaribi still felt she should at least be a good host, and upon sitting down next to Naruto, started making some tea for both of them. Every few seconds, the girl would look at him, checking to see that he wasn't pulling anything funny. But Naruto just sat where he was, like a rock.

"Why did you really come here?" Isaribi asked, pouring the tea into two separate cups. "I mean… yes… I know you're headed for the island… I saw your teammates sailing off half an hour ago. But… why did you really come down here to my place? It's not like I'm of any importance to you ninja for you to even care?"

She gave him the tea, the steam wafting from it warming Naruto's skin. He sniffed it, and sighed, before blowing on it, and taking a sip. Afterwards, he returned his attention to the girl beside him.

"This is some very nice tea…"

"Thanks…" Isaribi furrowed her brow, looking away.

His face falling as well, the blond set the cup down and focused all his attention on his host. Turning on the spot, his mood became one of seriousness now.

"If you really want to know… I came by here… because _I_ _**do**_ care," Naruto said, catching Isaribi's attention. She turned to him, a little bit surprised by his answer. "I may be a shinobi, but I'm not as cold hearted as they are supposed to be. Regardless of my upbringing as a ninja, I am still a human with feelings and choices… not a tool or weapon that others can push around."

Isaribi blinked, looking at the boy in bewilderment. "But…"

"Heck, I may still be too young to be making these decisions, but because I am still just a kid, I'm not bound by that many laws," Naruto said, fisting his hand and thumping his chest. "It's my _Ninja Way_… I follow my own path. It's my life, and I choose what to do with it."

The girl blinked even more, listening to what the boy had to say. It was obvious he wasn't done yet, he just paused for a moment to take another sip from his tea, and after which, continued on with what he had on his mind.

"I'm just like you," Naruto stated. "I've had a hard life… just like this one." He looked around her cabin, and then back at her, his look all serious, and Isaribi could see a glimmer of hurt in his eyes. "Being shunned by everyone around you, chased away, ridiculed… being called things I would never say myself; and it happened throughout my entire life, ever since I was only four… heh… at an age where I could barely understand anything!" He shook his head and looked into the fireplace, watching as the flames crackled calmly in the cool atmosphere of the shack. "I ran and hid… just like you, away from everyone around me, and I didn't have a single friend. That feeling… loneliness… that feeling of being completely alone… it's… it's unbearable…"

He looked back up at Isaribi, seeing her back away a bit, a growing look of shock etched on her face. "So tell me… why? Why do people treat you the way they do?"

Isaribi looked down at her self, and raising her right hand, touched one of the many areas of her skin that was bandaged up. She sniffed and looked away, closing her eyes.

"I may look like a normal person… but I really am not…" Isaribi said, Naruto listening intently, and watching as tears brimmed at her eyes. "These bandages… t-they… they hide what I really am underneath; the skin of a monster. That's why people hate me so much! I am sick with the disease of a demon, an accursed spirit! That's what people from my home village saw me as; a demon… and what people from other villages see me as; a sick child that nobody wants to take care of!"

Naruto frowned, finally finding out why this girl was living all on her own, and why people from the village shunned her so. But she wasn't done. After she said that she undid the bandages around her face, and showed the blond what she was hiding underneath the gauze. What she revealed surprised him quite a bit, and he moved forward to take a better look.

His eyes weren't fooling him. When he got a better look, he saw that the girl had small areas of her skin covered in tough scales, fish like scales, or maybe serpent like. It didn't matter. As he scrutinized it, the girl turned away more, and hid her face, sobbing slightly.

"Back in my old village…I was spirited away by what the villagers thought were people from another world… but in reality, I was taken away by these shinobi… and was experimented on," she sobbed, wiping the tears away from her eyes, and tightening up the gauze around her face. "They… they surgically gave me the ability to turn into a monster… a being that was amphibious; and… even though I could transform and take the beast's shape, I couldn't fully turn back into a human. They said…I… I wasn't fully integrated… and t-they said… that they didn't have any intention of turning me back into a full human…"

Wiping away her tears, she looked back up at Naruto, eyes red. "I ran… I managed to escape from the facility! B-But… when I returned to my home village… the villagers refused to help me… even look at me. Because… out of everyone who was spirited away from my village… I… I was the only one to return. So… it was because of this… I fled from my home village… wanting to start a new life elsewhere…" She shook her head, clenching her eyes shut. "It … it was the same everywhere I went… pain… torment… ridicule… it continued to follow me every step of the way!" She gritted her teeth, her body suddenly spasm as she started to sob again. "Y-You're the first person… w-who… who even dared approach me…"

She started to cry, putting her hands over her eyes, just to hide her tear strung face from the boy in front of her. Naruto blinked away sadness of his own, and shuffling over to the girl, wrapped his arms around her, hugging her closely. The hug came as a big shock to her, and when she realized that she was being cradled in his gentle embrace, let out all the pent up emotions she had been suppressing all her life, and wailed into his shoulder. Isaribi cried into his jacket, clenching it tightly, hoping that he would not go.

Naruto sniffed, a tear running down his face as he took her pain, and smiled, patting and rubbing her back in comfort.

"It's okay…" he whispered to her. "I'm so sorry. You did not deserve what happened to you… you didn't…"

"T-Thank… you…" Isaribi sobbed, rubbing her eyes against his jacket. While Naruto was still cradling her in his arms, he looked ahead of him.

It was then he received a rather unpleasant surprise, when he spotted something sitting on the small table against the side of the wall. A large black cloth or what looked like a piece of a cloak, with a red cloud on it outlined in white. He easily recognized the symbol and pulled away from Isaribi, the girl now smiling slightly with shining eyes. She was grateful for his comfort, but was unaware of his reaction to the sight behind her.

"N-Naruto… i-if there is something you need…"

"Y-yeah… there is something I need," Naruto replied, getting to his feet and walking around her. Isaribi followed him with her eyes curiously, and watched as the blond stopped at her wall side table and pick up the piece of material sitting there she uses as a table cover. He took it into his hands and looked down at it, examining it carefully to make sure it was genuine.

"W-What is it, Naruto-kun?"

"This piece of clothing," he turned to her, eyes reflecting a look of concern and fear. "Where did you get it?"

"I… I don't know…" Isaribi replied. "W-When I was at the facility I found it… and took it to cover myself when I ran away!"

"What happened to the rest of the cloak?" he asked nervously.

"I tore it up, and used it as rags and stuff to help clean my house," she said.

Naruto gulped and looked back down at the piece of cloak, his eyes running up and down it as he felt the fibers between his fingers. "If it's been like this for a bit, then it should be fine. However…" he sniffed the cloth, before licking it, making Isaribi raise an eyebrow at his actions. Naruto's sensitive taste buds took it all that was on it, and he mellowed over his saliva for a few seconds. "Yup…just as I thought; Kirin Nectar… and a dash of ocean salt… originating from the _Land of Sea_," Naruto murmured, furrowing his brow as to the geography from which he was picking up the trace elements in the cloak. "It's got a lot of traces of you on it, which means you were the last to wear it. But…I'm able to distinguish another taste. Strange…I swear I've picked this up before…"

"I…I don't know if it means anything, b-but I overheard they were just using me as a test subject for somebody else," Isaribi explained, also getting to her feet. She walked over to Naruto and looked down at the cloak, pointing at it. "Somebody at the facility wanted the same abilities I had, to use in their own arsenal of jutsu…"

"Orochimaru…" Naruto hissed, clenching the cloth between his fingers. Isaribi looked at him, surprised.

"Y-You know who it is that did this to me?" she asked. Naruto nodded his head, now looking enraged when he realized who the new scent belonged to.

"Snake slime… an old stain on the underside of the piece of cloth," the blond said, holding up the red-cloud rag. "My master has been hunting him down for years now…"

"I-Is that bad?" Isaribi asked.

"Worse," Naruto said, looking at her with concern. The purple haired girl now looked terrified, and she walked up closer to him, the blond taking her by her shoulders. "Orochimaru was a part of a group called Akatsuki at one time… but left because of his own greed and selfish ambitions. And I think you've found his old cloak. But there is a bigger problem then Orochimaru here." The blond picked up something on the wind, a flutter of another material on the wind, and he glanced out towards the window, looking outside of the shack. "If the organization is still hunting down that bastard… then that means they are following any sights or gossip they can… pick… up… on…"

The moment he glanced out the window, he saw the distinct sight of a butterfly, sitting on the windowsill. It fanned its wings, while looking straight into the shack.

It was quite an unusual sight, seeing as that butterflies weren't made of paper…

Naruto frowned. "Isaribi…I think we should run…"

* * *

_**Several Miles Out…**_

Deep inland, sitting at a local dango stand along a far out country road enjoying a nice plate of treats, sat a pair of silhouetted figures. Under the shade provided by the small restaurant, and enjoying the sweet air and sights to see, the two hunters made themselves appear as unsuspicious as possible, at the same time searching for their target, even though they looked like they were just enjoying a nice stroll through the countryside.

But the pair weren't ordinary shinobi anyone would see on a daily basis, even though shinobi were common in this area of the Land of Fire.

Regular ninja, as well as samurai or any other warrior class of this nation, did not wear black cloaks, with red cloud patterns outlined in white covering their main item of clothing. That stuck out way too much.

The two of them were quiet, not really saying anything, just enjoying each other's company. It was only until the shorter of the pair was about to take a sip, when the figure received feed back from its scout.

Underneath the cover of the straw hat with white paper covering the person's face, the cloaked hunter glanced towards the West and furrowed their brow.

The taller partner across from the figure, also about to take a drink, stopped when he noticed his partner's sudden reaction.

"What's wrong, Konan?" the person asked in a monotone voice, while gazing at his partner from under his straw hat. "Did one of your scouts find Orochimaru?"

"Not exactly," the woman replied, lowering her cup back down to the table, so she could fully concentrate. "I may have been following a whisper on the wind…but I never expected _this_; I've found one of our old comrade's experiments… along with the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki…"

The man raised an eyebrow at her, before bringing his cup back up to his lips and taking a sip, closing his eyes.

"That's Itachi-san's target… besides… we already have a mission," the man replied. "We have been assigned to eliminate Orochimaru first, that is our priority. Hunting down Jinchuriki isn't on our list of things to do for some time…"

"But…" Konan looked back at her partner, about to argue.

"… The Six Tails and Seven Tails are our targets for later. We can't be acting outside of our orders …"

"That's fine," Konan replied, lowering her head and looking down at her tea. "However…he seems to know quite a bit about our former companion. He might even know where the Snake Sannin is…" The blue haired woman looked up at her partner, now beginning to contemplate the words she was speaking to him. "If you are uncomfortable in engaging a Jinchuriki so early, I'll understand."

The two sat in silence for the next twenty minutes, eating, staring, and thinking. It was around the time they finished that Konan's partner came to a reasonable conclusion. Looking at the bottom f his empty glass and at his empty plate, the cloaked figure let out a sigh and stood up, leaving the pay for their tea on the table beside the empty plates.

"I've finished my tea," he stated, "…I guess we've got some free time…"

Konan also stood, looking up at her partner, and waiting for instructions. The figure looked at her, eyes overshadowed.

"I'm willing to go along with any lead of finding out where our old acquaintance has gone," the Akatsuki member stated, reaching up and tipping his hat. "We'll go and ask the Jinchuriki some questions, and if he or his comrades are hostile towards us, well… I will not be held responsible for my actions." He turned and headed for the road. "Come, Konan…"

"Yes, Yahiko…"

* * *

_**On the island of the Land of Whirlpools…**_

"Whoo…" Anko exclaimed, wiping her brow. "That was one long boat-ride…I'd say it took us about an hour… maybe a bit more…"

Sakura, Ino and Lee hopped out of the small boat, now anchored at the shoreline of the island. The moment they set foot on the shores of the Land of Whirlpools, they were immediately greeted by a wondrous, fantastical sight. Aside from the beautiful waves crashing in the surf behind them, before gently gliding into the soft sand of the island, and the cloud cover forming above them, yet showing no signs of raining, it was the sight right in front of them that captured their attention.

Rocky Mountains reaching high into the sky, lush, exotic forests, and ruins of an old civilization resting on the coast of this small land, made up the sight before them. The whole place seemed untouched for years now, what with the flora growing on the walls of the buildings they saw. The small Genin, in their admiration of the tropical island sight before them, also noted the swirl symbol on one of the pillars of the fallen buildings, with Sakura pointing this out.

"Isn't that the…?" she began.

"Yup!" Anko exclaimed, smiling up at the ruins. "The symbol of the Ninja Village of Uzushiogakure is the same as the one transcribed on the backs of Konohagakure's ninja vests."

"That's so weird," Ino said, tilting her head at the markings.

"Uzushiogakure's ancestral leader was said to be a relative of the First Hokage. They were either cousins or more likely, brothers," Anko said, smiling down at her rather flabbergasted students. "Our village was once an ally with Uzushiogakure, a strong bond held onto by both leaders, with the values shared branching out throughout the history of the two villages. But the Land of Eddies disappeared over time, leaving only us. That symbol on the back of Konoha's Jonin and Chunin vests is that exact same symbol used by this village; a symbol of good faith."

"That's incredible," Lee exclaimed, smiling as he looked upon the ruins. "What happened to them?"

"Attacks from other nations, war… events that eventually swept sand over the entire country, and eventually blowing away on the wind over time," Anko replied, smiling slightly. "There are some ninja in our village who are direct descendents from this land, but that is strictly classified information: _**Hokage's Eyes**_ only…"

"That's pretty deep," Ino said, stepping forward. "I wonder if anyone is living here…EEEEEEKKK!" The girl suddenly let out a shriek when unexpectedly, her foot sunk into the ground, followed by the rest of her body when the sand collapsed beneath her feet. The loose grains of the surface continued to give way, and suddenly, even Sakura, Lee and Anko fell into the ever expanding pit, all of them suddenly becoming trapped in the large hole.

When the vertical tunnel stopped collapsing, the people who set it up eventually appeared out of hiding, the bushes rustling loudly as they leapt onto the beach.

The three shorter figures appeared first, and surrounded the hole, the team leader stepping up first.

Samui looked into the hole, half-smiling. "Konohagakure Ninjas: _Incapacitated_…"

"They took their time getting here," Karui commented with a smirk. "Ha! They all must be pretty weak to fall for a trap like this!"

"Don't underestimate Konohagakure Ninjas," Omoi began, rubbing his chin in thought as he looked into the pit. "All ninja tend to have back-up plans in response to these situations. This was just a half-baked idea and they fell for it. Maybe they planned this? Maybe they intentionally fell for this trap so to lure as out? Perhaps our trap, has become _our_ trap?"

"WOULD YOU SHUT UP?" Karui shouted, glaring at her teammate. "Kami, your out-loud thinking is annoying!"

Just as the Kumogakure ninja were about to scout out the giant pit further, a commotion at the bottom of the hole suddenly caught their attention, with a loud rumbling knocking them out of their reverie.

"_**Summoning Jutsu!"**_ a loud shout echoed from the hole, followed seconds later by an explosion of white smoke, that caused all three Genin to back up in surprise.

A split second later, the rumbling reached its most violent, and in a link of an eye, the pit exploded outwards, a large reptilian creature shooting out of the pit and rising over the three Kumogakure Genin. Crouching low and shielding themselves from the flying smoke and sand, the member of Team Samui looked up, and gaped in shock when they saw a huge King Cobra summoning leering over them, fangs bared and hissing loudly, its long body crawling the rest of the way out of the pit it was summoned in. And of course, riding a top of its hooded head, sat Anko Mitarashi, joined by her three students, all of them glaring angrily down at their would be captors, now turned targets.

"That hurt you brats!" Anko shouted, frowning when she recognized the symbol on their headbands. "Kumogakure Genin, eh? You're a long way from home, aren't you?"

"What are you doing on this island?" Ino shouted, holding up a fist. She was pretty bruised up from falling into that hole, but definitely still fighting fit. "A bunch of amateur trap builders wandering around the middle of nowhere. You must be drifters… maybe even delinquents!"

"We could ask you the same thing!" Samui replied, standing up and dusting herself down. Her teammate Karui, of course, responded in her usual, ill-tempered manner, and shook a fist at the girl in return.

"FOR YOUR INFORMATION, WE ARE KUMOGAKURE NINJAS! AND PROUD OF IT!" Karui shouted. Ino smirked at her.

"Well, you don't look like Kumogakure Ninjas from up here!" she retorted.

"Why don't you come down here and say it to my face, bitch!" Karui roared back, while her teammates shook their heads in exasperation at their friend's goading of the Konoha Nin into a fight.

"Alright! You're on, herring!" Ino shouted back, before leaping off of the summons head and descending flat out to ground level. Anko sighed and frowned as she watched one of her back up jump into combat so hastily, while Lee and Sakura were more inclined to back up their friend more then anything else.

"A most youthful confrontation!" Lee exclaimed, punching a fist in the air in declaration. "Count me in! YOSH!" With that said he too leapt off of the snake and descended towards his opponent, which he chose was the male of the Kumogakure Ninja Genin. Omoi saw the weird, green kid flying towards him, and in response rose to his feet, reaching back for his sword, while his other teammate Karui, had already charged forward to meet the blond girl half-way.

"Ugh… here we go!" Omoi muttered, drawing his katana. Lee landed a good ten feet from the Kumo Genin, and in a blink of an eye, he charged, tackling the Kumo Genin full on and knocking both of them rolling across the sand in a clean attack.

Samui watched from where she stood as both her teammates went at it with the Konohagakure Ninjas, Karui seemingly wanting to get rid of some of her anger, while Omoi was forced to deal with a hyperactive opponent. She rubbed the base of her neck in annoyance and returned her sights to the giant cobra, which lowered itself to the ground before vanishing in a large cloud of smoke, the two remaining Konohagakure Ninjas hopping off of its head before hand.

Anko and Sakura approached, but stopped a good distance away, watching as Ino and Lee fought the Kumogakure Ninjas in a rather stale-mated contest. With the Snake Jonin being a spectator for now, Sakura decided to focus her attention on Samui, who was just standing where she was, also watching.

"What do you guys want with us?" Sakura asked, glaring at the blond Kumo Genin, who also glared back at her. "What made you decide to try and capture us all on your own?"

"It's a mission of ours," Samui stated. "We are to engage you until the _Nightwalker_, a shinobi without a shadow, shows up. We have information that says he's traveling with you."

"Nightwalker?" Sakura furrowed her brow in thought, then looked up at Anko, realization snapping in her brain like a twig. "Does she mean Naruto-kun?"

Samui caught that whisper, and reached back, drawing her trench-knife. The black blade flashed through the air as she assumed a fighting stance.

"So… you know him?" the blond Genin asked, catching Sakura's attention. "Then I will be your opponent."

Sakura blinked in surprise, but then frowned, and in turn, drew a kunai of her own. She spun it between her fingers, before grasping hold of its handle, having the blade held up defensively.

"Fine by me!" she replied. "If you are after Naruto-kun, then I won't let you have him! He is my teammate!"

"Then that means I'll have to try even harder!" Samui replied. Without another word, the Kumo Nin charged. At the same time, strange electricity like chakra flickered off of the girl's body, and from Sakura's point of view, the Genin became slightly distorted. Not only that, but her image seemed to flicker as she charged at her, covering quite a large distance in just those few seconds.

"No matter how fast you move!" Sakura shouted, charging as well, bringing her kunai down as she ran. In a flash they both met, both their blades colliding. The pink haired kunoichi acted quickly, drawing another kunai from behind her with her free hand and knocking the Kumo girl's left wrist upwards. She hooked her arm around her staggered arm, and using the energy colliding between them on the charge, spun them both through the air in an anti-clockwise direction. Using the momentum to her advantage, Sakura side-kicked Samui in the stomach, and sent her flying through the air. Not at all hampered by the electric current flying off of the girl, Sakura landed with ease, and smirked as Samui also took a stance after landing from the kick. "I can still follow you…"

Samui flinched. _"She's quite strong…"_ Taking a stance, more electric currents began flying off of her, before being diverted to her trench knife. The electricity cracked and flew through the air, cutting swaths into the sand.

Sakura smirked and reengaged; tossing a kunai in the girl's direction and charging the moment she did so. Samui ducked the flying blade and also went to meet the girl mid-way. In that instant, Sakura pumped chakra into her right hand where her kunai was, blue energy flooding over it like a sheath. The moment their blades collided, sparks exploded between them, knocking both Genin skidding back across the sand for a few feet, before they reengaged and repeated these actions, charging, attacking, and parrying, the beach becoming their arena.

Anko watched on from afar, looking left and right between her three students. Ino was engaging Karui blade to blade, the red-haired girl's katana clashing with the blond's kunai. In spite of the relative speed displayed by the Kumo ninja, Ino was able to keep in time with her quite well, enough that the two of them were actually having a hard time dealing with the other. Rock Lee on the other hand, was having a hay-day dealing with Omoi, the boy who thought way too much being overwhelmed by the Genin's incredible hand-to-hand fighting prowess, so much so that he was staggered by a couple of good blows. However, he was able to hold his own against the fuzzy-browed ninja. And Sakura and Samui were exactly on par with one another.

"Ah…they grow up so fast," Anko mused to herself.

Her face suddenly changed from proud and smirking to one of surprise, and to her right, on her blind side, the Jonin leader of Team Samui came lunging at her, three katanas drawn with one held in his mouth, with the two in his hands alit with blue, crackling electricity.

"I move like lightning, and swiftly cut down my foes!" Killer Bee shouted, just several feet from his opponent. "Yo all had betta watch out, and stay on yah toes!"

Anko ducked the moment he slashed out at her. On her descent into her crouch, her hands flashed through the series of hand seals of Tiger, Hare, Boar and Dog, and the moment her knee hit the ground, she slammed her palms into the sand.

"_Earth Release: Earth Style Mud Wall!" _the Jonin shouted, a second later, rocketing into the air atop of a rising pillar of rock and mud shooting out of the sand. The sudden propulsion into the air of his opponent forced Killer Bee back, the Jinchuriki back-flipping away from the pillar of rock. He leapt away till he was a good fifty meters away, and looked up towards the top of the wall about a hundred meters up to see where his target had gone.

When he saw Anko come to the edge, hands in her pockets, he grinned on the sword in his mouth.

"Nearly caught me off guard there for a second," Anko called out from where she stood, smirking. "To bad I knew that a Genin Team like this would not venture so far out of the country without a forth Team Member, that meaning, there had to be a Jonin leader hanging around. Nice try though…"

"Your reaction was quick, snake user shinobi!" Killer Bee exclaimed. "But know that I won't go easy, little lady!"

With a spark of lightning shooting off of his blade, the Kumo Jonin shot forward, quickly hitting the side wall and changing direction, now running vertically up the stone pillar towards his target. Anko smirked and slapped her hands together into a hand sign, forming several more before slamming her right palm into the top of the mud wall.

"_Ninja Art: Multi-Shadow Pythons!"_Anko shouted, an explosion of smoke thundering down from the top of the earth wall, heading straight towards Killer Bee. That moment, the wall began splitting and bursting open and multiple points along the structure, and soon enough, a gauntlet of snakes lunged out and began striking at the charging Jonin.

Killer Bee's speed was hampered by the reptiles charging him down, as he lashed out at every one that attempted to bite him or coil around any of his limbs. He skidded to a stop, and changed direction, avoiding another series of snakes attacking him from above. He leapt across the stone wall, rolled along its side and came to a crouching stop, beginning to face off more and more snakes, even though the stunts he pulled were impossible from this angle.

While he was preoccupied with the pythons lunging at him left and right, Anko used this opportunity to her advantage, and leapt over the side, diving towards her opponent, kunai drawn. She spun through the air and tossed a cluster of knives aimed at her opponent, who rounded towards her and knocked away the shuriken, while cutting down several more pythons at the same time. Seconds later, Killer Bee charged up at the Jonin again, blades still in hand. The two met half-way to each other, and clashed, metal clanging and sparks flying as they flew past one another.

Landing against the wall, they both spun around to face one another again, and took defensive stances. On closer inspection, the two of them had cuts on their cheeks, both of them having landed a small blow, but not enough to knock either of them out. Anko grinned and ran a tongue along one of her knives in her characteristic manner, whereas Killer Bee twirled the blade in his mouth on his tongue, flipping it around, then smirking.

"Such delicious blood…" Anko exclaimed.

"_Time to bring in da pain_!" Killer Bee sang, charging at the woman.

Ino and Karui clashed blades, grappling between one another and glaring each other across the cold steel and sparks. Both girls growled, wanting to intimidate the other, but ultimately failing. Eventually the two of them threw each other off, leaping away. While in mid-retreat, Ino drew a few shuriken from her pouch behind her and tossed them at her opponent. The red haired girl responded by batting away the soaring ninja stars, and skidding to a stop some distance away. Twirling her sword around, she ran at the pale blond, running the tip of her blade along the sand, kicking up a dust cloud as she ran.

When she came up to Ino, who had her kunai held up and ready, Karui, slashed out, throwing sand in the girl's face, temporarily blinding her. Ino cried out and staggered back, blade held up in defense and slashing out blindly to block any incoming attacks. Karui however ducked low under her flailing blade, and kicked out at her feet, knocking her off the ground and eventually over, Ino hitting the sand hard in the end. As the Konoha Genin was withering from the fall and getting rid of the sand in her eyes, Karui, now back on her feet and standing above the downed girl, brought her sword around and attempted to impale the girl in the hand to keep her from moving or being a threat.

Ino however, had an ace up her sleeve. Knowing an attack was to come, she quickly brought around a couple of ninja smoke pellets from her pouch and tossed them to the ground, the spheres exploding and enveloping both girls, allowing Ino to scamper away under cover. Karui ended up impaling something, but she had no idea what and who because of the smoke, and waited until the smoke screen disappeared.

When the smoke finally dissipated, Ino was back on her feet, quite a distance from Karui and her eyes cleared. When it was clear enough to see, the Kumo Genin caught a whiff of powder and looked down to where her sword was. Much to her shock, she found her katana impaling a couple of paper bombs, and quickly withdrew her blade from the sparkling paper. A split second later, they detonated, sending Karui hurling away with a dress and small burns on her arm and leg. She eventually hit the ground some distance away, but quickly flipped back to her feet, recovering enough from her escape to glare heatedly at the blond standing away from her, who was now smirking coolly.

"Don't trip," she exclaimed.

"I don't intend to," Karui replied, twirling her sword around and taking another stance. "I'm far from done!"

In the background, Omoi was in a tough battle against Lee, who was also experiencing some trouble. The Kumo Genin slashed out repeatedly and swiftly at the fuzzy browed Genin, who leapt away, dodging each strike and attempting to keep as far away from his blade as possible. Eventually, Lee decided to change tactics, and one the next swing Omoi took, Lee blocked the strike at the wrists, looping his arm around and twisting the boy's sword out of his hands.

Omoi frowned and began retreating, leaping back quickly to avoid a flash of light that struck across at him, which turned out to be a kunai drawn by the other boy. Rock Lee gritted his teeth and lunged, striking out at Omoi in a flurry of movements, which the Kumo Nin could not predict. Instead, Omoi backed up step by step, moving out of reach of each swing and slash. He back flipped away when Lee kicked out at him, before he was then pursued by the Genin.

After avoiding the first wave of attacks, Omoi stopped his retreat and crouched on the sand, watching as Lee charged at him from a distance. Frowning, he formed a couple of hand signs before slamming his hands into the ground.

"_Earth Style: Rock Avalanche_!" Omoi shouted, a loud rumbling echoing out from the ground at his center. Shockwaves coursed out one after another, before the sand around Lee began to shift and move like waves.

Rock Lee staggered as he ran, looking up in surprise when suddenly, a massive rock shot out of the sand in front of him, and began to roll across the surface of the shifting surface towards him. Lee leapt out of the way, landing atop of what he thought was sand at first, but then found out he had landed n another boulder rising from the sand, rolling as it ascended. Quickly, he leapt away, moving away so to avoid the enclave of boulders rolling up and out of the sands and descending upon him. Lee switched to defensive, and began leaping left and right, avoiding the boulders, rocks and earth as they came thundering down the waves of sand towards him, Omoi taking careful aim with every boulder he summoned with his technique. From his center atop of a mountain of sand, the Kumo Nin raised an eyebrow as he watched the boulders begin crashing into one another, boxing Lee under a barrier of tough earth. It was then, unexpectedly, amidst the avalanche of rocks and waves of sand, a loud bang resounded.

Debris flew as a rock was effectively blown to bits by an unknown force. That force came to be known as Rock Lee's Leaf Whirlwind. A flailing kick spinning like a spin-top, shattering the stones and rock, and blowing them back, with a green blur shooting up and flying into the air. Omoi leapt to his feet, leaping off to the right and making a dash for his sword. Within seconds, Lee was onto him, diving towards the Kumo Nin and marking his attack point.

At the same time Omoi picked up his sword and spun around to meet his opponent, the fuzzy-browed Genin went into attack, spinning through the air and bringing his legs round.

"_KONOHA DAI SENPUU_!" Lee shouted, thrusting a kick straight down for Omoi's head.

"_Collaboration Blades: Rising Dragon_!" Omoi shouted, slashing his katana through the air to meet Lee's kick. However, instead of a single slash, a second one followed, crossing over in a blur of movement, forming a defensive 'X' right above the boy. It was a technique that usually required two swords to perform or with a second partner, but Omoi compensated for lack of both with just the one.

The collision of both attacks was explosive, Lee being thrown off by the blast of both his kick and his opponent's blades striking his kick. Omoi was also hit by the shockwave, which knocked him falling to the floor, hard.

Lee hit the sand about twenty meters away, crash landing and tumbling across the mounds, before stopping in a crumpled heap, almost like Omoi, who was lying in a small crater formed by the shockwave.

The two of them struggled to their feet a minute later, and glared at each other across the way. In spite of bruises and being badly shaken up, they reassumed stances, and prepared for reengagement.

Sakura and Samui were in the midst of a heated battle of their own, exchanging blows with their bladed weapons, yet also attempting to inflict as much physical force on the other as possible. Of course, both of them were pretty bruised up at this point, also sporting a number of cuts. But the two were evenly matched, and were right now in a grappling match with their weapons.

Sparks flying between them, the two glared at each other, Samui's blade still crackling with electrical energy, meeting Sakura's own fist, glowing with wind chakra. Eventually, the two of them forced each other away, but immediately lunged again, slashing out at their opponent. The clang of metal ricocheted through the air, and was then followed by gash marks forced in Sakura's right shoulder, and Samui's waist. The two of them staggered forward, before rounding on the other, bearing their weapons threateningly.

A few seconds later, the blades on their weapons split in two, the ends falling to the sand.

Sakura ignored it and tossed her now blunt kunai straight at her opponent. Samui blocked it, and charged at her, just as the pink haired kunoichi was drawing another blade. The blond haired Kumo Nin leapt at her, and struck down with her blunt combat knife, and was about to meet her opponent's shoulder blade when suddenly, an unexpected development exploded in her face.

The Kumo Nin's arm was knocked flying upwards by a kick that materialized out of no where, a blur forming in slow motion right between the two Genin. Samui blinked, eyes widening when she saw a boy dressed in black, and wearing a pale mask and a dish hat, appear right in front of her, knocking her attack away.

Sakura also blinked in surprise, as she watched the shadow knock Samui flying away with a powerful kick to the stomach, disarming her at the same time. The pink haired Genin then grinned when she watched the boy land, crouching low from his attack, accompanied by a purple haired girl, who seemed to stumble out of the same space area in front of her and fall rather clumsily to the ground.

"About time, Naruto-kun!"

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	23. Awakening

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Awakening_

"_How is your eye, Ryoko?" Kariya asked, looking across the round table the members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were sitting around, at the only female member of the group._

_The red haired bombshell groaned and propped her head on her hand. About an hour ago, she and Zabuza were permitted to leave the Hidden Mist Ninja Hospital, and rejoining the other members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, met up at the Mizukage's lounge room. The round room was situated at the front end of the building, with a balcony looking over the rest of the Village below. It was a bit of a classy room; a variety of couches surrounding a round coffee table, red drapes, and large portraits of the previous Mizukage's surrounding them, along with group pictures of all the past Seven Ninja Swordsmen._

_It was quite quiet now, and the group was currently pestering Ryoko about her new eye. She was really not in the mood, looking back across at Kariya with a disgruntled look on her face. Of course, when he asked her that particular question, it was mostly concern for the fact that she only had one good view now, the other one scarred and covered by her eye patch._

"_Which one," the girl gruffly replied, "the still-good-one or the one that can't be opened anymore? Well… either way, it's terrible!" She looked down at her hand and checked her nails. "I'm half blind, I can't really see anything on my left side, and now I have depth perception problems…"_

"_At least your…"_

"_DAMMIT!" Ryoko jumped in her seat and glared to her left, where she saw Tsukahara sitting right next to her. When she wheeled round on him, he gave her a raised eyebrow expression. "How long have you been sitting there?"_

_Raiga and Zabuza, also sitting around the table across from her, snorted when the red-head blew her cork at the Tsunami of the Hidden Mist._

"_For a while now…" Zabuza replied, opening a can of soda water and taking a drink, leaning back on the couch, while his other hand was draped over his Executioner's Blade. He was covered in some bandages now, hiding scars from their recent struggle several days earlier. "You just didn't notice, Ryoko."_

"_Shut it, meat sack!" the kunoichi growled, "Or I'll cut you…"_

"_Hey, no need to get picky at me," Zabuza replied, waving his hands in front of him. "I just got out of hospital…"_

"_What I was just saying…" Tsukahara sighed and leant back on the armrest to his left, "at least your shining personality hasn't changed one bit."_

"_Bite me, Tsukahara," Ryoko snapped._

"_You know, Ryoko-dear," Kariya began, putting his hands together in thought. He was wearing his flower patterned sunflower robes, and didn't look that intimidating, or serious, from the others' point of view. "It is not very lady-like for you to be acting the way you are, no matter how injured or exhausted you may be. You are one of the Great Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist; you must hold your head up high, and respect your comrades as equals. It is not very elegant of you to demean others with your insistent name calling and polluting the atmosphere with your bad temper…"_

_Ryoko then leant over the table and slapped him across the face, a nice loud clap echoing throughout the room. Zabuza winced and looked away after seeing the glowing red hand print now imprinted on Kariya's face._

"_Sorry, it just had to be done," Ryoko exclaimed, smirking and sitting back down. "Man… that felt good. I feel much better now."_

_Tears in his eyes, Kariya looked back, picking up his still cold soda and pressing it against the side of his face. "Glad to be of help, ma'am…" he replied._

"_HAHA! That's a good look for you Kariya!" Tsukahara laughed in his face, hitting himself on the leg in amusement. "Man! She just made you her bitch! Whoot!"_

"_Well, at least I'm not an egotistical oaf such as yourself, who barely has any respect for authority," Kariya replied, glaring at the orange skinned, blue haired, goggle wearing ninja sitting next to Ryoko._

"_Hey, I'm proud of my work," Tsukahara exclaimed, rubbing his knuckles against his vest and looking down at his watch. "Wish I was there to help you two take care of Kisame though… it's a shame he got away. I've always wanted to have a crack at him."_

"_It doesn't matter, he's gone now," Raiga said, glaring towards the wall to his left, not bothering to look up at any of his comrades. "Good riddance. I always loathed that bastard."_

_Silence fell for now around the five sitting around the coffee table. With Zabuza just taking the occasional drink from his soda, Kariya nursing his bruised face, Tsukahara tapping his foot impatiently against the floor, Raiga brooding and Ryoko playing with her quarter full drink of the table top, they allowed the quiet of the hour float by. They really had nothing to say, save for the fact that their former leader and companion Kisame had abandoned the Hidden Mist to go start a new life. When Ryoko and Zabuza went out with a squad of Hunter Nin to bring him back, only the two members of the Ninja Swordsmen returned, both of them helping to carry the other back to the village, bloodied and cut up._

"_Well, I guess that makes you the group leader now, aye…Ryoko?" Tsukahara asked, this time with surprising care etched in his voice, looking up at the young team member. "Do you think you're up to it?"_

"_Who cares," Ryoko replied, still sulking and playing with her drink. "Even if I am, things will still be the same."_

_Zabuza snorted. "Yeah… but I can't help but notice…" He looked back and over his left shoulder towards the balcony. There, he saw the last member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Hikita: Ghost of the Hidden Mist, sitting perched on the balcony railing, looking up towards the night sky high above them. He was surprisingly calm now, his sword leaning against the railings next to him. "You should be happy Hikita! With Kisame gone, you've been moved up to third strongest in the group! Congratulations!"_

_The man didn't say a word, and continued to look up with a stoic expression in play up at the moon, shining high above the Village Hidden in the Mist. Raiga, Ryoko, and everybody else looked over at their dreary looking comrade, a lot of them finding it a little bit weird that he wasn't saying a word, since out of all of them, he was the most talkative when it came to their group. He was practically the most ambitious of them, wanting to become the strongest of the Seven._

"_What's up with sasquatch?" Tsukahara asked, making a comical reference to their friend's size._

"_He must be disappointed he didn't get a chance at fighting Kisame himself," Zabuza replied, taking a drink. "He practically did so a lot when he was still around, but on the day that walking soup-ingredient was leaving… must be really upsetting for him…"_

"_Yes, and he always regretted it in the end," Kariya stated, looking back towards the coffee table, "always getting his head chopped off, or a limb… or even having every bone in his body broken. How irresponsible…"_

"_Hey Hikita," Ryoko spoke up, now looking directly at the man. "You alright?"_

_The Ghost of the Hidden Mist didn't say anything at first. He just continued to sit their in silence, staring up at the moon, and looking it over, even though it became slightly clouded around now. It was only about a couple minutes after Ryoko asked her question, and everybody else was giving up on trying on getting him to talk, the man spoke._

"_The moon is very pretty tonight, isn't it?" he asked._

"_What was that?" Zabuza looked up at the man, raising an eyebrow._

"_**He is awake**__…" Hikita continued speaking, turning his head and looking into the lounge room, his face overshadowed by the light of the moon, but his red eyes cutting through the shadows. "__**The moon speaks to me… **__sharing me its secrets__**. **__It says__**… the demon inside me is awakened…and I will soon consume this world**__…"_

"_Okay… seriously… are you okay, Hikita?" Tsukahara asked, a little bit concerned for his comrade's sanity._

"_Kami, don't you know yet?" Ryoko asked, looking at the man next to her. "He's always had a screw loose, and you're noticing this now? Man, you're thick."_

"_The beast will fall from the heavens, and burn this world," Hikita spoke, a grin spreading across his lips, his tongue running across from one corner of his mouth to the other, licking his upper lip. "__**My shadow will set me free, and unleash me upon the mortal plains, where I will feast**__**for all eternity**__. On the day the prison is ripped open, darkness will fall, and the illusion of reality will die…"_

"_Tsk… freak," Raiga muttered, rising to his feet. Hands in his pockets, he walked around the table and left the room, waving to the others. "I'll see you guys tomorrow…"_

"_It's getting late," Kariya said, also getting up. "I have an early meeting to attend at dawn. Good night all…" He left, shortly followed by Tsukahara. _

"_I have a lesson with my student early in the morning. Chojuro really is trying hard to surpass me, although… the odds of that happening are highly unlikely," the Tsunami of the Hidden Mist said, looking back at his comrades and waving. "I'll see you guys… whenever and wherever. Call me when you're free…" He left through the still open doors, leaving the three strongest members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen left._

_Zabuza and Ryoko also got to their feet, looking at Hikita with a bit of concern. Their comrade continued to stare at them, grin fading from his face. Although they weren't normally crept out about their friend's sanity, he was really on the ball tonight, not to mention his voice sounded a little bit possessed. So, giving their comrade a friendly wave and one last look of concern, the two left._

_Zabuza sighed and rubbed the back of his head as he headed for the doors._

"_I've had enough insanity for one day," the Demon of the Mist stated, striding past the red haired woman. "Come on, I'll buy you a drink at the bar…"_

"_Sure," Ryoko replied. "Wine, scotch, sake… whatever." She followed him out, and closed the door behind them, leaving Hikita sitting alone on a dark balcony, with the room dimly lit._

_Frowning, the man got off of the railing. Staggering a bit when he stuck the landing, he picked up his sword and sheathed it onto his back with a loud clack. Cracking his neck, he spared one last glance up at the moon, furrowing his brow in its direction._

_When he did look back at the moon though, his vision suddenly blurred, and the silhouette of what he thought was a dragon at first flashed past his eyes, a loud roar echoing in his ears. It was the sight of the single eyed beast with the ringed, tomoe-dotted pupil that had the Seven Ninja Swordsmen member gasp in terror and stagger backwards into the room, gripping the side of his head and clenching his eyes shut. He let out a gasp, and shook his mind clear, glaring back out over the village._

_While he was focusing his attention on the misty village below and recovering from the sudden migraine, his ears perked to a noise behind him, and he raised an eyebrow, glancing over his right shoulder._

"_I sensed you the moment I entered the room," Hikita said, furrowing his brow. "I may act insane, but I'm not paranoid…"_

_He looked over his shoulder, towards where the curtains on the left side of the room were. In the shadows of the red curtain, there appeared another one. This one managed to mask its presence via a cloak with a hood, which shadowed the face, and hid the person's identity completely. Of course, when the figure did appear, they went only as far out as half the shadows of the curtains, with Hikita watching the person cautiously._

"_If the Mizukage wants to be rid of me, then he'll have to try a hell of a lot harder then hiring some noble assassin," Hikita said, reaching up and grabbing the handle of his sword. "You will find you won't be able to kill me so easily…"_

"_Why would I want to do that?" the voice of a young woman replied, surprising the Ninja Swordsman with the tone and gender. "Why would I want to kill such a remarkable ninja?"_

_Hikita raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?"_

"_Someone who can set you free," the person replied, reaching up with their visible arm and tipping the top of her hood up ever so slightly, letting in some light. When she did, she revealed a Sharingan eye hidden underneath, a black one with red tomoes. Hikita frowned._

"_You are of the Uchiha Clan from Konohagakure," Hikita said. "I'd recognize an eye like that from a mile away. Although… it is a little bit different… from the others I've seen."_

"…"

"_It is __**unique**__," the Ghost of the Hidden Mist stated, his fingers itching at the handle. "I've never seen one like it."_

"_Does the moon scare you?" the figure asked, stepping out of the shadows more. Hikita's body shook and his eyes widened, visibly shocked by the question. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, as he gazed dazedly at the woman who spoke of his fear. The hooded female approached, walking into clear view in the lounge room, the two of them staring each other down. "Do you fear the illusion of your life, the madness, and the shadow of the moon… the darkness? Does it haunt your nightmares? Does it haunt you where you stand… right now?"_

"_Stop it…" Hikita growled, grabbing the blade of his sword. "Stay exactly where you are! I…I don't know what…y-you're talking about…"_

_The figure stopped, and remained where she was, staring at the man who was twice her height, but was glaring at her, and sweating bullets._

"_The moon speaks with you," the figure said. "It tells you things that people are too terrified to understand. That is why you walk alone, why you long to reach the top… to free yourself from illusions, madness and shadows. Loneliness is killing you…"_

_The masked figured raised her head a little when a cold metal placed itself against her chin, and she looked behind her to see Hikita standing behind her. When he was standing about ten meters in front of her a split second ago, he had managed to get her back. The man was glaring dangerously at her, which was intensified by how close he had his large sword hovering right in front of her neck. The four meter Chinese Broad sword with a red cloth wrapped at the end of the handle pommel, and the blade with its jagged teeth on one side, and deadly sharp on the other, cutting edge, flashed brightly in the light, and trembled with raw power._

"_What the hell do you want from me?" he asked._

"_I am just like you… alone… unwanted… longing for peace," the woman replied, turning a bit so she was side on with the swordsmen, his sword still hovering just inches from her. "I need your help…"_

_Hikita stayed quiet, still glaring down at the Sharingan woman, taking her in. He looked her up and down, trying to drink her in, but found it difficult since she was cloaked, hooded and masked quiet cleverly. Heck, he couldn't even see her face through the shadows of her hood._

"_I'm listening…"_

_**End Flashback…**_

* * *

_**The Land of Fire…**_

_**Several Miles closer to the coast…**_

The two members of Akatsuki, who had earlier picked up on the trail of Orochimaru, was still marching slowly towards the lowlands, crossing vast valleys and passing through thickets of forests. The slightly taller of the two, designated Yahiko, lead, while his partner Konan walked on behind him. Winds and distance didn't hamper their progress, as they took their time getting to their destination.

While they were trekking along a long, winding road through a clear, open valley, surrounded by rice fields, a stranger up ahead caught their eyes. A second glance had them see that it wasn't just one stranger, but two, a pair of cloaked figures heading towards them. As they drew closer and closer to one another, Yahiko and Konan saw that the two figures, though different sizes, wore the same, light brown samurai coats, but with hoods.

The one on the left that the two Akatsuki could see was short, about half their height, and wearing a full, light brown cloak with red linings. Though much of his body was covered by the cloak, the hood area let in some light to his face, where visible was a head of unkempt grey hair, and a stitch-like scar running from under his left eye all the way down his cheek. He also had pink eyes, and a rather vacant expression on his face; a very dull expression. What was also visible was a large black, staff like pole he carried on his back with two, bladed hooks on each end, with a green flower on the larger hook end.

The one on the right was much taller then his companion, dressed in blue and grey camo pants, combat sandals with shin guards, with the rest of his outfit concealed by the samurai cloak with the hood over his head. Much of his face was over shadowed, except the jaw line, with a large scar shaped like an X on his chin, and the Hidden Mist headband hung around his neck, with a gash across the symbol. The last thing that was visible was a five foot Chinese broadsword on his back.

The two members of Akatsuki kept on walking towards the other two strangers, neither of them making a move to provoke the other party, but all the same glaring at each other. Eventually Yahiko and Konan walked right past the other two, with the Akatsuki pair being dwarfed by the much taller figure, who was about a third taller then the two.

When the two strangers passed, they stopped behind the two S-Rank Missing Ninja, who also paused in their journey when they sensed them stop. The taller of the two strangers glanced behind him, a frown etched on his face.

"Beware of the moon," the tall figure spoke, glaring back at the pair. "It may shine like a beacon of hope, but it is a lure in the darkness; the darkness that still walks this earth…"

Konan glanced back, furrowing her brow at the missing ninja. She continued to stare at them, until they started moving on, the blue haired member of Akatsuki watching as they walked away. Eventually when they were disappearing over the next hill, she turned to Yahiko, who was waiting for her to finish in her analysis.

"Well?"

"Missing Ninja, both of them I believe are from Kirigakure," Konan stated.

"I see," Yahiko replied, nodding his head. "Let's keep moving…"

They continued walking, choosing to not have a confrontation with the two strangers, as it would waste precious time and energy. Instead, they chose to focus on their goal ahead, although were unable to fully dispense of the words the tall stranger passed on to them.

"_Beware of the moon… the darkness still walks this earth… hmm?"_ Konan thought.

* * *

_**The island of the Land of Whirlpools…**_

_**The Beach…**_

There were many times when Naruto suddenly jumped into a fray that wasn't normally his to deal with. However, as soon as he jumped into this one, he was met with incredible vigilance and, quite possibly, great intent. The boy grabbed the edge of his dish hat as he dodged left, right, and pivoted around the two Kumogakure Genin dancing around him. Karui and Omoi, immediately after spotting the _Nightwalker_ enter the battlefield, changed targets, and leaving their spent opponents in the sand, went on to fight Naruto, supporting their teammate.

Samui was watching from a distance, analyzing how Naruto moved as Karui and Omoi double-teamed him, with Sakura, Ino and Lee also watching from the sidelines. They were pretty winded from their fights, but had only just broken a sweat, and had not in the least been fighting at full strength. They rested for now, and waited and watched, ready to jump in if Naruto needed any help.

However, it didn't look like he needed help at all as he breezed through Karui and Omoi's attacks. He ducked under a slash attempted by Karui on his left, crouching low, where he was met by another attack made by Omoi, coming in on his right and aiming low. Moving quickly, he leapt off the ground so that his body was horizontal to the sand, both hands grabbing the incoming blade and he hopped over it, swinging to his right and roundhouse kicking the Kumo Genin in the head, using his momentum for strength. He effectively sent the boy tumbling across the sand hills, and also knocked the lollipop out of his mouth.

Landing cleanly, Naruto rose to his feet, but then came under the attention of Karui, who had effectively overshot him with her attack. She spun around and lunged at him in a stabbing motion with her blade. However, just as her blade was an inch from his shoulder, the blond Konoha Genin back-stepped and lent, the blade passing right by him. He quickly reached up and grabbed the sword by the handle, twisting the girl's wrists as he spun around. He got her in an effective arm lock where if he twisted anymore, he would snap her arms at the elbow, but instead, side-kicked her, sending the girl flying as well.

Karui tumbled across the sand to a stop, where she slowly staggered to her feet, bruised up, and effectively had the wind knocked out of her. She glared up through bared teeth at the scarf wearing, masked boy, finding him just standing where he was, her katana in hand.

Omoi was also back on his feet, well… crouching anyway. He picked up his sand covered lollipop and seethed.

"That was strawberry… my favorite!" He growled, throwing it to the ground. "That bastard is going to pay!" He formed a number of hand seals and glared at his target, but just as he was about to finish, the blond suddenly disappeared in a blur motion, and in a blink of an eye, the Nightwalker appeared in front of him in a flash, running motion. Karui, who was about twenty meters away from Omoi, was shocked at the speed displayed, and looked towards her partner just in time to see him receive a clean punch straight across his face, and sent flying again.

While Omoi was sent tumbling across the sands again, Naruto straightened up from his lightning fast charge, and tossed Karui's sword towards her, not even bothering to look. The sword landed in front of the red haired girl, who looked between it, and her opponent.

At that same time, Samui came charging in, kunai drawn and held between two hands, and her arms ablaze with electricity.

She took his back, hoping to hit her blind side. However, just as she lunged in a stabbing motion, the blonde's body became faded and he stepped backwards, passing right through a shocked Kumo Genin. Samui stumbled forward, but then spun around, seeing Naruto standing several paces back from where he stood seconds before.

Gritting her teeth, the blond girl rounded on him again, lightning crackling from her kunai and she lunged, slashing out at him. Naruto backed up in quick paces, which made him appear to faze in and out of focus, as he avoided every attack made by the girl. Samui eventually came in with a spinning roundhouse kick, but Naruto managed to block it with ease, and caught her leg. He kicked out at her other foot, throwing her off balance and having her hang suspended in the air. Shocked, she was about to receive an effective counter when Naruto pulled her in and, with his right fist hooked over and straight down, hitting her clean in the stomach and into the sand. The blow resounded with a loud thud and a small shockwave, which created a small crater in the sand where Samui now laid, dazed and wide-eyed.

Looking up, Naruto saw Omoi and Karui back on their feet and charging at him with their katanas in hand, circling round one another as they ran in progressive fashion, attempting to throw off his gaze. The blond furrowed his brow and made a quick calculation, before picking up Samui by the leg and began swinging her. After doing that several times, he then threw her straight into Omoi, who was thrown off his feet as his companion was thrown straight at him. In an incredible domino effect, Karui was hit full on by both Omoi and Samui flying through the air, and the three of them were effectively thrown a good twenty feet from where they previously were, crashing on top of one another.

Taking his chance Naruto charged at them as they slowly got back to their feet, staggering and helping each other up. From Naruto's perspective, they formed a perfect row right in front of him and, as soon as he was in range, and with excellent timing, he brought up his right fist and, still charging full speed, thumped his right fist and punched Omoi right in the face. Since he was first in line, Naruto effectively then followed through with the punch and hit Karui and Samui straight afterwards, basically clothes lining or hooking all three at once and sending them knocking them off their feet, with the blond Konoha shinobi skidding to a stop.

All three of them fell to the ground one after the other, knocked senseless from the triple blow.

Forming just one hand seal, pressing thumb against an upside-down palm, Naruto then thrust his fist into the ground, looking up.

"Ninja Art: Earth Encampment Wall!" he shouted, a few seconds later, a large pillar of rock jutting out of the ground behind Omoi, Karui and Samui, the three of them now really struggling back to their feet, once again formed in a perfect row right in front of Naruto, since they landed that way again, and now he was on the other side of it.

As soon as the small wall of rock formed behind the three, and they were getting back their bearings, wondering what the heck was going on, Naruto reached over and drew a crossbow. With the length of a standard assault rifle, scoped with crosshairs and loaded, Naruto took a one-handed grip with it and aimed at all three of them, firing a second later. The high powered bow shot straight through the three and threw them up against the wall, pinning them one on top of the other, with Omoi at the back and squashed by Samui, with Karui at the front.

Naruto easily avoided killing the three, and instead, aimed for their clothes instead, pinning them by the scruff of the shoulder and neck area, and nailing them against the rock. Since it was a long arrow, it managed to keep all of them in check.

"SHIT! I can't move!" Karui growled. Angrily, she reached up and attempted to pull the bow from the wall, but couldn't. Just as the three of them began struggling to free themselves, Naruto appeared right next to them, pressing his foot up against the wall and glaring down at them.

The three members of Team Samui looked up at the masked figure, a little bit terrified and a little bit awe struck. As they were staring, Naruto brought up his cross bow and with the empty, firing end, tapped the arrow that was sticking them to the rock face. The moment he did so, a paper tag unraveled from around the feather end of the arrow and fell, revealing to be a paper bomb, which really shocked the three of them.

"Firstly, the arrow is buried two feet into the rock face, so you can't pull it out," Naruto stated, watching as their expressions turned from worried, to even more terrified. "Secondly, any attempts to remove the arrow will cause it to explode. Thirdly, rip your clothes, and you will be topless, if you can feel it, I've also pierced your bra strings." The blond said with a rather amused voice as he gestured to both Samui and Karui, who blushed fiercely at his statement. "Oh… and forth, the paper tags will only detonate on my command so…" Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out another paper bomb and, spreading it out in his hand, slapped it against Karui's protective head band, "don't move…"

"You bastard!" Karui shouted at him.

"That's one thing I've been called!" Naruto replied, holstering his crossbow on his back, and placing his hands on his hips, smirking down at the three through his mask.

"Genius…" Omoi exclaimed, his terror being replaced by admiration.

"Wow… that's a first…" the blond exclaimed. "Thanks…"

"Yo…_Nightwalker_…" Naruto turned at his alias being raised. When he did, he immediately recognized Killer Bee, the Jinchuriki of the Hachibi walking towards him, and alongside him, a rather puffed out Anko. Their fight had lasted to the end of Naruto's, and when he saw his students incapacitated against the earth wall, he knew it was all over, and Killer Bee called it off with the Snake Mistress of Konohagakure. And now…

Nightwalker and Jinchuriki faced each other down, with Naruto standing in front of the downed Team Samui, with Sakura, Ino, Lee and a recently recovered Isaribi, joining him at his side, and Killer Bee on the other hand, with Anko waiting patiently to his left. The two seemed to glare at each other, with Naruto even going so far as to remove his mask and lower his scarf, revealing a slightly sweating face.

As soon as he was unmasked, Killer Bee approached, and Naruto met him at the middle, one glaring up, and the other, down.

"_Nightwalker Naruto_… hmm…" Killer Bee thought, rubbing his chin as he looked down at the boy. He then grinned and did his characteristic hand gesture, sunglasses flashing in the sun. "_Hey, what a killer name! It dishes out the pain_!"

"_Yeah, I love the name, it gives me fame_!" Naruto rapped along. "_The Nightwalker, yo_!"

"_And Killer Bee, fool_!"

"_Dattebayo_!" Naruto exclaimed, and bumped fists with the Eight Tails Jinchuriki.

Everyone who was standing around the pair fell over anime-style, feet in the air. Killer Bee's students, who couldn't really move or do anything, just stared oddly at them with sweat-drops on their heads.

"So what's been jumpin' on your side, Naruto?" Killer Bee asked with a grin. "What's brought yah all the way out here?"

Naruto smiled up at his old time friend from far away, but then that expression fell and he frowned, remembering the situation he had suddenly come to realize.

"Problems…" he answered.

_**Forty-Five Minutes later…**_

Naruto had taken the liberty of telling, not only the temporarily formed members of Team 7 for this mission, but also the members of Team Samui, the entire situation of what their mission was here, as well as the trouble slowly approaching them. He told them only the most important things, Akatsuki, the Curse Mark, and Orochimaru. But of course, he was careful to leave out other parts of his life that he considered sensitive and censored, and when he was done, perhaps the only people that were able to fully comprehend his story was Killer Bee, Anko and Sakura… while the others just seemed to stare at him.

"So we'd better get a move on," Anko stated, putting her hands in her pockets and glancing over at Killer Bee. "If you have alternative plans with my student, I'm afraid I have to apologize. We have to postpone our fight…"

"Nah, that's cool," Killer Bee replied. "Our mission was to find and draw out the _Nightwalker_ from the team of ninja traveling here, and have been ordered to assist him if necessary. If you need our help, bro…"

"I'm fine with that," Naruto replied, before looking around at Team Samui, whom he had helped back to their feet. They were still pretty agitated at being squashed together and pinned up against the wall on top of each other, and didn't seem like they were willing to cooperate at this point. However, Naruto knew better. "Do you guys want to help out? I mean… if you're not too sore about…"

"I'm alright with it," Omoi stated, being the more reasonable one, while Samui just stood quietly behind him, hands on hips. "We still have a mission to complete anyway."

"I don't mind either," Samui said, but looked away when she said that, not too proud of speaking to the one who kicked their butts at the moment. Not to mention she couldn't really take her eyes off of the young teen. _"Never knew the Nightwalker was such a looker…"_ She blushed a little at that thought.

Naruto nodded and looked over at Karui, who was looking away from him with her arms crossed.

"What about you?"

"Do whatever the hell you want…I don't care…"

Killer Bee smiled and gave Naruto the thumbs up. "You have got your answers my friend. Let's hurry and have this day end!"

"Great…" Naruto exclaimed, glancing over at his sensei. "How should we do this?"

"Well, I believe the best course of action is to pair off when we reach the village… or what is left of it," Anko said, rubbing her chin in thought. She looked around at the restless bunch of Genin, with her Team exchanging rather dirty looks with the other three Kumo Nin. Apparently, tensions from the fight beforehand were still high, and she figured that in order to enforce god behavior and teamwork amongst them, they will have to work together. Apparently, the only ones who were really happy with working together were Naruto, herself, Killer Bee, and apparently Lee, who was standing where he was, smiling. Isaribi, who was standing by and listening in quietly, didn't really have much of a roll to play in ninja business.

"Okay then," Anko began, pointing at each one of her students. "Team 7 will work in collaboration with Team Samui. When we arrive at Uzushiogakure, we will split up to search the ruins, and we will do so in pairs in order to watch the other person's back. Here's how it will work: I will partner up with… you!"

"Me?" Omoi asked, pointing at him.

"Yes, you…" Anko then glanced over at her pink haired student. "Sakura, you will partner up with… umm… you girl," she said, pointing at Isaribi. The girl blinked and pointed at herself, with the Snake Mistress studying the rather peculiar girl. "Hey, Naruto… who is this girl?"

"Oh, sorry," Naruto exclaimed, chuckling and rubbing the back of his head, before gesturing to the purple haired teen. "This is Isaribi, the girl I met back in the village. I've asked her to come along with me if that's okay…" Isaribi blushed bashfully and bowed towards everyone else around her.

"It's… nice to meet you," she exclaimed.

"Okay, Isaribi," Anko exclaimed, smiling. "I like that name. Anyway, you will be partnered with Sakura here," she continued, while gesturing to her student again, who seemed compliant with the plan so far. "Let's see… Killer Bee, you will search Uzushiogakure with Rock Lee," she said, glancing towards the fuzzy-browed Genin. The boy grinned and waved in his characteristic manner, with Killer Bee nodding back politely. "Umm… Ino… you will go with…umm…"

"I'll go with you, sensei," Ino said, with Anko raising an eyebrow.

"Umm… not exactly what I was planning. I was hoping that maybe you could go with Karui," the Jonin Instructor replied, pointing towards the red-haired girl. However, after seeing the two remaining members of Team Samui glaring rather unpleasantly at Ino, Anko reconsidered her verdict. "But… in light of certain circumstances, so that we don't have any unnecessary deaths on this mission…" She then pointed at Naruto. "You will be teamed up with Samui and Karui, while Ino will come with me…"

"You have got to be kidding me!" Karui nearly shouted, looking at the spiky haired blond standing at the sidelines. "With him?" Sakura sighed and rubbed her forehead, wondering how this was going to unfold later on. Omoi chuckled where he knelt at the thought of somebody else dealing with Karui's bad temper, suppressing his laughter so that he didn't draw any attention to himself. Killer Bee also chuckled, becoming aware of the predicament that was unfolding.

"We have to put up with it, my students!" Killer Bee stated, smiling down at them. "Let's keep it cool, right?"

"_**Yes, sensei…"**_ the three of them replied, although Karui was still relatively unhappy. Samui on the other hand, wasn't fussed at all. In fact, she was rather pleased, but hid this fact behind her stoic expression.

Forming up, and gathering their things, the members of Team 7 mingled with the members of Team Samui, and together, headed on for Uzushiogakure. They left the beach behind them in their wake and headed into the forests surrounding the island, following a direct route for its center, where they would find the ruins of the old Hidden Village. But it would not be an easy trek.

With Killer Bee and Anko in the leader, they pushed through undergrowths and climbed old staircases into the hills and mountains. If it wasn't for the large variety of flora and fauna, the insects and all that, the Team had to also put up with each other. Sakura and Ino hung out with each other for most of the hike, trying to keep away from Karui and Samui, what with the whole fighting and stuff. However, with some encouragement from a rather disgruntled Naruto on the journey, they began trying to speak with the two. It was quite awkward for all of them. Lee, however, was getting along quite well with Omoi, both of them learning a bit from each other about training hard and thinking smart. Isaribi hung out mostly with Naruto, finding comfort in his understanding and kindness.

Eventually, the group made it over the barrier of hills and forests dividing inland from the lowlands, and once they reached an open clearing overlooking the central valleys below, Team 7 and Team Samui were presented with a breathtaking view of the Land of Eddies. From the top of the high hillside they had climbed, they saw the ruins of Uzushiogakure nestled in the valley below, nature already starting to take back the lands where the buildings still stood. But they didn't stand around long enough to admire the view; they knew they had to keep moving.

Immediately after spotting the village, the group headed down, and after crossing the rivers surroundings the village, entered through its ruined gates. The moment Team 7 entered the village, they saw it bared a similar resemblance to Konohagakure, only the buildings were more tube shaped, and had the same swirly symbols everywhere they went. It was also a bit smaller, and didn't have the same defensive walls around it like Konohagakure. Instead, it relied on the terrain and the ocean to defend its borders, and they were sure that it was hard for foreign ninja to enter Uzushiogakure back when it was still alive, because it was their home turf, and the people had the advantage.

But time had aged it significantly, and now it was but a ghost town.

As soon as they were through, Anko and Killer Bee coordinated their students as planned, and they all split up, heading into the ruins in every possible direction.

The next couple of hours were spent searching the ruined landscape and buildings for any sign of libraries, or ruins that held significant information in regards to the techniques used by the people decades before. Sakura and Isaribi searched through the buildings close to the center of the town, with the purple haired girl also searching the cannels for any secret passageways, while the pink haired Genin overturned every rock from every door way. The signs of war were scattered everywhere, rusty kunai, the occasional skeleton, pieces of explosive tags, and other unusual bladed weapons lying around.

Killer Bee and Lee fanned out street by street, moving from one house to the other. They found themselves searching a lot of cafes and apartment blocks, and were quite unfortunate when they came across more skeletons, as well as the remains of rooms that supported whole families. Anko and Ino did the same, but mostly searched the basements and stuff for anything of value to them, since the best way to find old scrolls was to look in the storage areas.

Naruto on the other hand, accompanied by Samui and Karui, headed straight for the Kage building. Instincts told him better, and he was on the trail the moment he set his eyes on the biggest building among the ruins that had the most damage. When they arrived at the staircase leading up to the Kage Tower, the group of three noticed that the entire right side of the building was caved in, and that there were huge holes dotting the walls, allowing them to see inside lounge rooms, offices and more. Even the Kage's room was completely visible, and didn't look really safe to try to get to.

Leaving the outside world, Naruto, Samui and Karui went inside, and finding the nearest staircase, headed to the levels below.

Three flights down, and the three Genin were in the catacombs at a T-junction leading out of the stair shaft. Naruto stood in the middle, looking left and right, with Karui and Samui behind him, looking around at the cracks in the walls, and the thick tree roots that held them in place.

Karui frowned and looked over at Naruto's back, as the masked boy went about, placing his hand against the walls and checking their composition.

"So? Where next, _**genius**_?" Karui mockingly asked.

Naruto ignored her for the most part, and crouched to the floor, placing his finger against its surface. He extended his senses briefly and nodded his head, getting to his feet. He pointed to their left.

"There's a cave-in about one kilometer in that direction…" Naruto stated. "On the other side there's a passageway that leads out." He then turned around and pointed right. "This leads to the heart of Uzushiogakure, and there are no obstructions…so I say we go that way."

Karui huffed and went on ahead, with Naruto following close behind. Samui went alongside Naruto, and they began following their teammate as she aimlessly walked along. It wasn't as dark as it was supposed to be, mostly for the fact that strange fungal formations were growing along the walls and tree roots. Mushrooms that glowed in the dark lit their way, and the three couldn't help but awe at the beauty there was down here, even though it was just a tunnel.

"What makes you think there's something down here?" Samui asked, not bothering to look at the Genin leading the way. Naruto glanced over at her, blinking in response. "We're supposed to be looking for a sealing key, correct; one that locks and unlocks any seal? If so, why are we looking through these tunnels?"

"It is said that Uzushiogakure still has many of its secrets hidden in its walls and beneath its soil," Naruto replied. "My people specialized in fuinjutsu, and it is for this reason we are searching these tunnels."

"But why exactly?" Samui asked again, this time looking in the blonde's direction.

"Think back to when we were looking down at the ruins of this village from the top of that hill," Naruto said, looking ahead of him. He gave Samui a few seconds to think about it and remember, before he began to speak again. "The whole of Uzushiogakure was constructed in a perfect circle in the middle of the valley, with the main river that flowed through cutting across the middle of the village in an S like Shape, like the divider between the Yin and Yang symbol." Samui blinked and looked at him in surprise, with Karui also looking over her shoulder at the boy as he explained what he saw. They had also noticed this. "This entire place is ruins now, a lot of the buildings can't really be distinguished anymore. But if you were to reconstruct it, every single building in this village, all aligned to form an engraving of a massive seal, a Fuinjutsu unlike any other that spanned for kilometers…"

"But… if Uzushiogakure was constructed as a giant seal…" Samui began deconstructing. "Then what is it for? Is it some kind of… security system… or… are they keeping something huge sealed up…"

"Yeah," Naruto replied. "Whatever it is they sealed underneath this village, it must be incredibly important… and powerful to. These tunnels form a second seal underneath the village itself; a back up seal in case the one on the surface was destroyed. It was done so in order to keep whatever it was they sealed at the heart of Uzushiogakure safe and accessible…"

"Accessible to who?" Samui asked.

"To _**us**_."

They kept on walking; passing by a few more skeletons, as well as some overhanging roots and vines they had to navigate through. However, after about half an hour of exploring the tunnel systems underneath the city, Naruto spotted something up ahead, but Karui, at the front of the group, didn't.

In the long corridor, when the girl stepped forward, her foot sunk when it landed on a loose tile, and the moment she hit the pressure switch, there was a loud whooshing sound and suddenly, bamboo spikes shot out of the walls on all sides. Naruto reacted quickly and leapt forward. Using the Flash Step Technique, he grabbed not only Samui, but Karui as well, and in a blink of an eye, sprinted about hundred meters in just a split second, skidding to a stop at the next curve in the tunnel, just in time to look back and watch the walls of bamboo spears crisscross and impale the walls.

Letting out a sigh of relief, he lowered both girls to their feet, who were all pretty much shocked at the sudden _pick-up_ experience. It made the situation more humorous then serious because their hair was all messed up now from the unexpected teleportation, and they themselves felt quite a bit dizzy.

"A lot of the old traps in these tunnels still work, so we'd better be careful," Naruto explained, letting the two wide-eyed girls kneeling on the floor to rest. He sat himself down on the nearest rock and waited for them to regain their senses. "Gotta keep our eyes open…"

"Uhh…ugh…thanks… thanks a lot," Karui said in a low voice, shaking her head clear and fixing up her hair, not to mention dusting herself down. She glared up at the blond as he stared at the two with that vacant expression hidden behind his mask. The red haired Kumo Genin frowned and looked away, unable to take his stare. "I guess I should apologize…"

"Don't worry about it," Naruto said, adjusting his sandals. "We're a team; we watch each other's backs."

Karui felt a bit guilty, since this well-meaning boy was just trying to help and be friendly to her. She realized that she had been treating him a bit unfairly. This showed her that this boy could take as much punishment as he wanted, and not return or forward it to anyone. All anger and hatred seemed to stop at him, as he didn't want to try hurting anyone else's feelings at all, no matter how much he himself was hurt. Karui stayed silent the rest of the time, while Samui next to her, collapsed against the wall and sighed out loud.

"What a rush," the girl murmured, glancing down at Naruto still sitting patiently on his rock. "You're really fast… how'd you do that?"

"A secret technique," Naruto replied. "Nobody else can use it but my family."

"I mean, _one_ moment we were walking along, and the next thing I know, we suddenly jumped about a hundred meters down the corridor to avoid being impaled! How the heck did you know the trap was there?" Samui asked. Naruto smiled and nodded towards a heap of skeletons pilled up against the wall where the bamboo trap was.

"A lot of clues are left lying about," Naruto exclaimed. "Kind of obvious…"

"Yeah, I guess," Samui replied with a smile.

The three of them rested for a bit, sitting where they landed from their near-death escape, and using this time to talk. Samui and Naruto exchanged some questions and answers, whereas Karui remained quiet, looking back and forth between the two Genin accompanying her in these catacombs, while in the meantime, attempting to clear her head a little. When they were done talking and catching their breath, they all got up again and continued on. The labyrinth of tunnels took them another half-an-hour to navigate, with Naruto making sure to check his compass to make sure they were heading in the right direction.

A couple more traps they had to avoid was another spear trap, a pit, and the boulder, which sent the three on a merry chase around the catacombs till it stopped when it crashed into a thicket of tree roots. But after swinging left and right around more tunnels, the three eventually made it to the center of the village.

It wasn't exactly what they expected. In fact, the center of the village underneath its surface was significantly bigger then they thought. A huge dome like chamber stretching for a diameter of about 500 meters lay in front of them. It was something out of an ancient stone temple, massive arches supporting a ceiling with massive root systems, and a number of engravings etched all along the surrounding pillars and walls. It was dark and dreary, water dripping down from the roots, with fungus strewn all over the place. It was incredibly surprising to find such a lush growth of plant life, especially in this area with no sun. Flowers and even butterflies congregated around the area, fluttering by the beams of light falling from the ceiling five stories up.

Naruto, Samui and Karui awed the spectacle, with the two Kumo Ninja looking towards the Konoha Genin for answers.

"Don't look at me, I'm just as shocked as you are," he exclaimed.

"But what's in here?" Karui asked.

"Something big…" Naruto replied, eyes falling to the middle of the room. It was when he looked towards the very center of the room; he saw what looked to be a bundle of gauze hanging suspended above the floor from the ceiling. He first thought it was a huge bag of laundry, but when the three of them walked into the room and got closer, they saw to their surprise, a coffin strung by sealing tape and tags, hanging from the ceiling. It was covered in symbols, and on further inspection of the room, they saw that the walls, pillars and support beams were almost completely covered in sealing tags as well; thousands of them. Most of them encompassed the floor space surrounding the coffin bundled in the strips of paper. The sight was very discomforting for the three of them.

"Is this… what the village is keeping secret beneath it?" Samui asked.

"Most definitely," Naruto nodded his head. "But what is it?"

"The first Kage of this village, a demon, or something far more powerful…" Karui suggested, shrugging. "It's weird… it makes me feel… strange…"

"We'll just have to see," Naruto replied, looking up and around them, walking forward a bit more. Karui and Samui followed, the three of them taking the time to examine the tags pasted here and there all around the room.

"From the looks of it," Samui said, crouching down on the floor and tapping at one of the tags. "Every single modern day fuinjutsu seal is covering every inch of this chamber. Not just Kumogakure sealing jutsus, but Konohagakure, Sunagakure, Kirigakure…"

"Every single seal formed throughout history," Karui said, looking around them and towards the sealing. "Even ones I've never seen before."

"I've never seen so many seals concentrated at one point. What about _**that**_?" Naruto asked, pointing towards the coffin hanging in front of them.

"It's giving off so much life energy," Karui pointed out, blinking as she looked at it and examined its surroundings. "The seal formed by the village above ground must be so damaged that chakra is able to leak out of that thing…"

"Which explains why there is so much plant life growing down here," Naruto said, moving forward again.

He was only about to get half way towards the center of the room when he was suddenly pushed back by an unexpected force. He staggered back, blinking in surprise. Karui and Samui jogged up to his side, and watched as he raised his hand and pressed it towards the air space. A current of blue electricity coursed over his hand and zapped him with a loud clap of energy, forcing him back.

"I think we've found the limit," Naruto pointedly said.

"That's a strong barrier," Karui commented, also placing her hand against the invisible wall and having it thrown back, fingers going numb from electricity.

"A specialty of Uzushiogakure," Naruto stated with a smirk. "It's impenetrable."

"Then how are we going to find out what's in there?" Samui asked.

Naruto backed up a little, having the two beside him back up as well and he looked towards the ground. Where they stood, he saw a large sealing tag imprinted on the floor and spread out, dotted by other tags. From analyzing it, he saw that it was a summoning scroll of some sort, but the ink lines on it extended outwards and over the stone floor and tags surrounding it. He crouched down to analyze it, and so did Samui and Karui, both of them running their fingers over it. It was a platform sealing tag, a primary one used as the basis of the entire seal, as the three of them could tell as far as they could see, stretched throughout the entire room.

"It looks like it was written yesterday," Samui said, rubbing her fingers together after running them across the tag and attempting to read the writing on it. "A blood seal, which is required to release whatever it is that is being held in that coffin."

"The key hole is placed conveniently outside of the barrier," Karui also pointed out, smirking. "That means, _**we**_ are meant to release whatever is in there!"

"Are we? Or is it meant to remain locked up in there?" Samui asked.

"Let's give it a try," Karui said, biting her thumb and drawing blood. Imprinting the blood pattern on her hands, she positioned herself directly over the seal and slapped both hands down. _"Seal Release!"_

The moment she said that…

Nothing happened. The red haired girl remained kneeling where she was in front of Naruto and Samui, glaring down at the seal she placed her hands on. Eye twitching, she formed another seal and slapped her hands down again, but with no results. She continued doing so till she was frantically attempting to unlock the seal, with Samui looking at the girl with an exhausted look on her face, finding her efforts quite embarrassing.

"Umm…Karui…" Naruto spoke, trying to stop her from embarrassing herself or wore herself out.

"Shut up! I'm trying to open it!" Karui shouted back, slapping her hands down on the seal two…three more times. "GOD DAMMIT!"

"Hold on a second," Naruto stood and walked forward, taking the girl by the shoulder. Karui stopped whatever she was doing and rose to her feet, with the Konoha Genin walking her back. "I think… only a direct descendant of the clan can open it…"

"And you are?" Karui asked, raising an eyebrow at the blond.

"My mum was a part of the Uzumaki clan, the clan that founded this village…" Naruto stated, smiling and raising his hand to his lips. "If that is true, then I can just do this." Biting his thumb, and writing the seal, he slapped his hands together then, kneeling down, slammed both hands onto the seal.

The moment he did that, the hidden seals activated and fanned out from his palms and spread. They continued to spread further and further, covering the entire space of the floor, and even the walls of the chamber. Unbeknownst to the three Genin, as they watched in awe and interest as the seals filled the room, also began filling the chambers. Within a matter of seconds, the seals and black marks starting from Naruto's handprint, had spread out throughout the entire labyrinth of tunnels, and as soon as they stopped, they flash of blue light began emitting off of every mark. The blue light spread from the starting and end points, and pet, before the entire village sized seal erupted in a pure blue aura.

All this light and energy then began to concentrate at the coffin suspended above the ground, and Naruto, Samui and Karui watched in shock as a visible, blue chakra began wafting off of it. Following it, orange chakra began flying off, whipping around like a hurricane, twisting and enveloping the coffin. Then, as the energy gathered, the tags began to burn, and one after the other, the burnt, ash remains of the tags fell to the ground, one after the other, until all that was supporting the coffin, was the strips of paper holding it up.

Within seconds, the coffin burst open and exploded, a cloud of smoke bellowing outwards in every direction, surrounding and enveloping Naruto, Samui and Karui, and nearly knocking them over with the shockwave that followed. Moments later, it all ended.

The light faded, leaving nothing but the tags on the floor and the smoke in the air.

Coughing and retching on the smoke, Samui and Karui waved it away and looked up, having fallen to their knees to stop themselves from being blasted away by the force of the shockwave.

"What the hell was that?" Karui asked.

"I don't know, but something happened," Samui replied, looking up and through the mist of smoke still hugging the ground and air. Naruto waved the smoke away from his face where he knelt and stood up, walking forward and attempting to see clear to where the coffin was.

Arriving at the edge of the barrier, the blond reached out, and his hand passed straight through the space where it was supposed to be. He smiled, figuring that was on obstacle out of the way. But then, returning his attention to the coffin space, he found that all that was left of it were the used of seal strips dangling from the ceiling and waving in the breeze, and the result of unlocking the seal, was still masked by a wall of smoke.

Eventually, the smoke began to part, and soon enough, Naruto, Karui and Samui were beginning to get a clearer view of the very center of the chamber.

What emerged from the white smoke and out of the darkness, was something or someone, kneeling in the center of the room, head bowed, and surrounded by an aura of purple energy. Amidst the silence and as the purple glow of chakra faded from around the figure, Naruto was finally able to see what it was that was sealed inside of that coffin.

He found much to his shock, which plainly showed on his face, as well as his embarrassment, that there was a naked person kneeling in the middle of the room. Not just naked person, but a girl.

A woman around her late twenties emerged from out of the smoke, kneeling on the stone cold floor, but obviously not at all bothered by it. She was completely naked, aside from a strange necklace she wore around her neck. The necklace was made up of black beads around her neck, with six red magatama hanging at the front. She was Caucasian, with unblemished, perfect, smooth skin, and was in remarkably excellent shape. From her position on the floor, it was unknown what her height was, but Naruto estimated her to be around Anko or Tsunade's height, with an ass and breast size comparable to his two senseis.

As the smoke cleared even more, he saw that she had short red hair a little bit longer then Shizune's, spiky and unkempt, with most of it covering her ears. Aside from human ears which she was supposed to have, she also, most shockingly, had two orange, furry, fox like ears protruding out of her hair, which seemed to twitch and move with her movements.

The person straightened up a little from her slumped over position on the floor, and survey the area from where she sat. She then turned towards the very first person she could see, which was a still stunned Naruto Uzumaki, standing some distance from her. From where he could see, the blond noted significant details on her face. A fair, angelic like complexion, with a perfect nose and framed face. Furthermore, what added to her appearance were the two, light purple eyes she had, with rings, staring at her onlookers.

Another pair of Rinnegan eyes gazed at Naruto, shining in the shadows, and unwavering.

Naruto gulped as he stared.

"W-Where…where am I?" the woman spoke up, a breathtaking voice filling Naruto's ears. "Who are you?"

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

* * *

**__****Author's Note: Yo!** I've finished two in two days? Not exactly my record, but, I just really wanted to get to the next chapter. But still, this plays an important role in the story, and coming up soon, the Chunnin Exams! If you want to check out some of my art for this fic, you can find the deviant art link in my FF profile.

P.S Please review...


	24. The Sage of Six Paths?

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_The Sage of Six Paths?_

"Why am I naked?" the woman asked, clumsily and slowly getting to her feet, at the same time looking down and marveling at her body. However, when the red haired woman tried getting up, she stumbled before she was even half way, remarkably able to stay on both feet, but all the same, failing to stand up successfully. The three Genin to the side watched in absolute bewilderment and with dead-panned expressions as the woman clumsily staggered, tripped and stumbled around in circles, trying to regain her own sense of balance.

However, it took her nearly a minute before she was able to find her footing, and when she did stop stumbling round in circles, she stopped five meters in front of the Naruto, Samui and Karui. The only boy of the trio had to shove his fingers up his nose to stop it bleeding, at the same time, remove his mask. With the proximity between the three gawking ninja and this weird red-haired female, both parties were able to get a better look at the other.

"Wow… that was _**fun**_!" the woman exclaimed, giving the three kids the XD expression. She then suddenly stumbled around on the spot, but then straightened up, holding her hands up to her face and moving them back and forth. Naruto, Samui and Karui had to stop themselves from falling over in embarrassment as the woman became absolutely fascinated by her own two hands. "Oooohh… wow! Pretty colors!"

"What…the…fu…" Karui began, but both Samui and Naruto slapped their hands over her mouth to keep her from completing her sentence.

"What a nice place! Wow… is this how I see things now!" the woman exclaimed, turning around on the spot, now not at all fussed by the fact that she was utterly stark naked in front of the three kids. "Everything is so… wavy… and… purply. Oooh…"

She turned around on the spot about twenty times, and then stopped dead in her tracks, looking straight ahead, over the heads of the three kids, both Naruto and Samui still clamping Karui's mouth shut, and looking up with sweat-dropped expressions at the very strange woman.

"I'm dizzy…" the woman said, causing the three kids to look at each other oddly, then back up at her.

The red haired woman's fox ears twitched, and then she looked down, blinking as she stared at the three children. Naruto, Samui and Karui blinked. Then the woman blinked. Then they blinked again. Then she blinked. This went on for another minute or so.

When the minute was up, the red haired woman smiled at them.

"Hello!"

"Uhh…" Naruto tried to speak, but couldn't.

"Uhh…" the woman imitated him.

"Wha…"

"Wha…"

Naruto chose to shut up after that, with Samui and Karui still staring oddly at her. The red haired woman looked at all three of them one after another, and at the same time, attempted to copy their expressions. It was rather amusing and disturbing to watch her warp her face in odd ways, from widening her eyes to perking her lips. This went on for another five minutes, before the woman then bent over, looking straight into Naruto's eyes, and stared.

After examining the boy intently for a moment, she then reach over and yanked the blonde's hand away from Karui's mouth, and looked at it, examining each finger and hand. Naruto had no idea what the hell was happening, and watched as she then felt the cloth of his jacket, then crouched down to look at his hands, lift the cuff of his pant leg, then poke at his toes. She then straightened back up to a bending over position, and still holding Naruto's hand, took his index finger, and put it in her mouth.

"OW!" Naruto shouted, pulling his hand back.

The red haired woman straightened and flicked her tongue around her mouth a little bit, her mind registering to the taste. She pursed her lips and nodded her teeth.

"Teeth… strange…" she mumbled, and then shook her head. Turning on the spot in a counter clockwise direction, the strange woman then looked back at the kids and smiled down at them again. "So… how do I look?"

"Uhh…" This time it was Samui who mumbled, blinking as she looked the woman up and down.

"No wait! Shush! No! No! I'll check!" the red haired woman replied quickly. Looking down, she brought up her left leg and flexed it a little bit, stretching it out and stuff. "Let's see, legs… left and right, okay good! I've still got legs!" She then turned and bent over completely and checked out her feet, with Naruto looking away with a red face as he was able to get a good view of… well… everything on the woman. "Feet… toes… one, two…nine, ten! Yup! Two feet… ten toes, five on each! Excellent! Nothing's out of place yet!"

Karui and Samui watched with concern as the woman straightened up and continued checking herself out, becoming really engrossed in her appearance.

"Okay… two arms… oooh… hands… fingers!" the woman continued, becoming engrossed in her hands again and playing around with her fingers. "Look at my hand… Oh God…how weird is my hand!"

"_How weird are you?"_ Karui thought, Samui's hand no longer on her mouth, but having changed her words from verbal to mental.

"Good…right! Lets see, neck, head," she began studying what she could see, her hands running over her face and head. "Ears, cheeks, eyes…nose!" She measured the distance from nose in comparison to her visual perception. "Okay… smaller then I remember it! Chin…" She ran her knuckle over her jaw line. "Oooh… more streamline… I like it…" She then checked her cheeks again. "Oh… peachy… I love it! I must look cute! Round as well!" She then reached up to the top of her head and felt around. "HAIR! Ooohh… wait… did I get a haircut?" Her hands moved to the back and felt around. "Yup… shorter at the back! Sweet! Okay…" The woman moved her hands further up her head, and she grabbed the two fox like ears up there. It was at this she groaned and stomped her foot. "Dammit! I've still got these things! Man…and I thought I'd change some more! I'll never get rid of these extra ears…"

Ignoring it for now, the woman then stepped back a little bit, this time successfully, and looked down at her body. Her hands patted her stomach and she smiled. "Wow…I'm thinner then I remember. Hang on! Wait!" She measured her height, doing some strange measurements with her hands and waved her hand about a foot above her head. "NOOO! NO! No! NOOOO! I've gotten shorter! No! I loved my old height of seven feet!"

She mopped around a bit, complaining about her height, with Naruto, Karui and Samui still not understanding what the hell was going on.

"Damn… oh well… lets see…" She looked down at her crotch. "Thank Kami, nothing extra! That would have been strange." Her hands then cupped her breasts with a rather satisfying 'glomp' noise resounding when she did so. Naruto, Samui and Karui blushed as they watched her knead and squeeze her own breasts. "Wow… they're bigger then before. That's a plus! Oh… and my butt!" She then slapped her butt cheeks. "Perfect breast to ass ratio. Mmm… oh wait… what's that?" The red haired woman stopped in mid-examination and looked up a Naruto and the others. She straightened herself and began flexing her left leg a little, moving it around. "Is that… is that what I think it is? Ooh. Yes! YEEEES! A mole; a mole on my left butt cheek."

The three Genin sweat dropped as the woman now focused attention on the smallest, less significant aspect of her body. They watched as her expression went from curious to happy.

"Fascinating, I've never had a mole before…" Sighing happily, she then looked back at the three kids and raised an eyebrow at their slack-jawed expressions. "What are you staring at?" The kids blinked, and nearly jumped when she swooped down on them, leaning over and looking them in the eyes.

After a few seconds, she spoke.

"I'm still a girl… right?"

Naruto, Karui and Samui nodded in unison.

"Then be honest with me…" She held her breath for suspense, earning a raised eyebrow from the three of them, before she let loose the question several seconds later. "Is my hair… blonde?"

Naruto looked up, blinking, then shook his head. "No… it's… red…"

"NOOOOOOoooooo!" the woman groaned loudly, walking away and grabbing her hair, pulling at it. "I'm never blonde! I'll never be blonde! It's always red! I'm stuck with red hair my entire life!"

Complaining and cursing to thin air as she walked around the room several times, the woman then hopped and skipped back over to the three Genin, skidding to a stop in front of them and bending over, looking at the three in question. Naruto and the others were getting pretty fed up with her hyper and sudden movements, but continued to ignore her antics to this point.

"Hello!" she exclaimed.

The three of them blinked again. This time, the red haired woman, making a bit more sense smiled at each of them. It was then she did something completely random, grabbing Naruto's face and, like a lover, gave him the most passionate kiss he had ever experienced. Samui and Karui were literally shocked and appalled when this red haired hussy suddenly began sucking face with the boy, who was just as shocked as they were. However, Samui and Karui also felt a pinch of jealousy when the woman continued to kiss him for a solid minute, before letting him go. She licked her lips and grinned at him.

"That was nice…" she said happily.

"What was that for?" Naruto asked, ignoring the dirty looks Samui and Karui were giving the woman.

"For setting me free!" She then glomped him. The woman hugged him so tightly she was almost suffocating him. This became even more awkward because she was hugging the boy against her enormous, uncovered breasts, which had the Genin almost die of blood rising to his face. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

She then pulled away from him, and dropped to the floor, crossing her legs and sitting up straight. Looking at all three of them, especially towards the dazed Naruto, she then patted the floor space in front of her. Hesitantly, the three of them sat down, and sat in a circle around the woman.

"Let's talk…" she said suddenly, smiling widely.

"Could you please put on something first?" Karui asked the woman. "It's distracting for us if you're sitting in front of us naked!"

The red head shrugged. "I'm comfortable the way I am…"

"Yeah… well… we're not," Samui said. Taking off her back pack, she pulled out a blanket and gave it to the woman, who covered herself with it like a cape, but still gave a good view to them of some of her more intimate areas.

"Oooh… nice and warm," the red haired purred, and she rubbed her cheek against the material.

"Sorry… for interrupting… but," Naruto began, shaking his head clear from his nuzzling and snuggling experience. Catching his breath, and resetting the mood, he clicked to get the woman's attention. "Who are you… anyway?"

The woman blinked, the looked down at her right hand, then her left hand, then down at herself. She then started feeling around her face with both hands, and then smiled at the three kids in front of her.

"I'm not sure yet… just got up," she replied, stretching out and letting out a sigh of relief. "What year is it anyway?"

"Well, according to the calendar, it's Tuesday, 18th May… 13 Years after the end of the Third Great Shinobi War (AGW III)," Karui stated. (I don't want to use the modern dates since this is an Alternative World to ours, so I'll just go and make one up).

"Really?" the woman exclaimed, rubbing her chin in thought. "What do you mean…Third Great Shinobi War?"

"Have you been living in a hole for most of your life?" Karui gawked, slapping her forehead in distress, and earning an annoyed glance from Samui for her rudeness. "The _Third Great Shinobi War_, in history, was the third war to be fought between three of the five most powerful nations on the main land, and because it was waged between the most powerful shinobi villages, makes it a _Great Shinobi War_!"

"I see, okay…" the red haired woman stared blankly at the Kumo Genin, nodding her head as she absorbed this information. "Yes… you are making absolutely no sense to me whatsoever…"

"WHAAAAAAAT?" Karui screamed.

"I mean…geez," the Rinnegan user groaned and rubbed the back of her head in thought. She was obviously taking a lot of time in figuring out what the hell was happening. "How long has it been? A hundred… no… a thousand years…?"

"Could you please tell us who you are?" Naruto asked, now getting a little bit tired of this round-the-roundabout conversation. "Seriously… we have no idea who you are or what is going on."

"First tell me who _**you**_ are," the naked woman replied, pointing at the kids. "I am just as confused as the next person in this room, and… yeah there are only four of us in here…**hey** look, a butterfly!" Her attention then changed to the insect that fluttered by, with Naruto, Samui and Karui falling over anime style from where they sat. A few seconds later, the woman turned back to them and smiled.

"Hello!"

"Okay… I'll start!" Naruto said, sitting up and pointing to himself. "I am Naruto Uzumaki of the Uzumaki Clan, Ninja of the Village Hidden in the Leaves of the Land of Fire!"

"Nice to meet you Naruto Uzumaki!" the woman exclaimed, leaning over and looking him straight in the eyes, smiling widely. "You are so cute!" The boy had to stop himself from fainting.

"I'm Karui, member of Team Samui and Genin of the Village Hidden in the Clouds of the Land of Lightning," the red haired Kumo girl spoke, gesturing to herself.

"And I'm Samui, head Genin of Team Samui and Ninja of the Village Hidden in the Clouds of the Land of Lightning," the blond girl spoke up, all three of them going in order.

"Nice to meet you Samui and Karui," the red head said, nodding to both girls politely. "I am the Sage of Six Paths, nameless nomad of the great plains and Shinobi of the Heavens, Gateway of Life and Death and Container of the Ten Tailed Beast!"

The conversation seemed to stall at this point. The three Genin blinked in unison as they stared silently at the Rinnegan woman, who just smiled happily back at her audience. Silence fell for a good five minutes as the three ninja attempted to decipher what they were told, obviously their minds going into a coma like state of shock, which didn't show on their faces until a good ten minutes later.

"_**WHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAATTT?"**_ Naruto, Karui and Samui shouted, their voices shaking the walls around them and causing pieces of debris to crumble from the ceiling.

"YEEEEEEESSSSS! WHY ARE WE YELLING!" the woman shouted back at them.

"Please don't do that again," Naruto said.

"Okay," the red head, now identified as the self-proclaimed Sage of Six Paths replied in a quieter voice.

"Hang on… rewind!" Karui said, doing gestures to match her words. "Are you telling us, near-say, stating that you are _**the**_ genuine Great Sage of the Six Buddha Paths of Reincarnation: the enlightened Human God, founder of the shinobi world and creator of all modern ninjutsu, and the most powerful ninja that ever existed?"

"…"

There was a brief pause as the woman drank up the entire question, before she gave Karui a nod in response.

"Yes…"

"Don't get this the wrong way, but…" Samui also spoke up, before gesturing to her entirely. "I thought the Sage of Six Paths was a…guy…a God…"

"Who told you that?" the female Sage replied, frowning at the girl. "How long has it been since my body was sealed away?"

"That had to be a thousand… several hundred years ago," Karui tried to guess, scratching her head for an answer. "The Sage was said to be a myth, a story passed down for generations."

"But if we had to estimate, then we'd say… it's been about six hundred… seven hundred years," Naruto concluded. "Your existence predates even our First Hokage!"

"Well that's just great," the Sage huffed and folded her arms, her breasts being pushed up a little bit, and causing Naruto to look away awkwardly and in embarrassment. "I told my students to pass down my story and teachings, but they do the exact opposite and turn me into a myth! That sucks." She sulked where she sat like a child would when they had their favorite toy taken away from them by their parents.

"She kind of reminds me of you," Samui exclaimed, elbowing Naruto in the ribs. The blond frowned and looked at her.

"I…do not…_**sulk**_," he muttered, causing Samui and Karui to giggle.

After a minute or so of staring at each other, the three Genin and the self-proclaimed Sage, things moved into more of a Q&A exchange, and Naruto headed this event. Folding his arms, he glared at the woman, who just smiled back at him, rising out of her state of comical displeasure.

"If you really are the Great Sage of Six Paths of legend," Naruto began, raising an eyebrow at her. "Then you should know every single modern day Jutsu we shinobi use today!"

"Modern day what?" the Sage repeated.

"You know…Jutsu!" Naruto said, slapping himself in the face. "Ninja Techniques that utilize the spiritual and physical manifestations of energy inside of the human body, a concept known as chakra, and by shaping, producing and controlling the chakra through a series of hand seals, and depending on the nature type of your chakra and ability to use it, can produce techniques of offense, defense, sealing and healing."

The woman blinked. "Jutsu?"

"Oh… this is getting me nowhere!" Naruto groaned. He stood up and stepped back, turning towards a wide-open and empty space in the room. The Sage, Karui and Samui turned to watch him with interest. "Here, let me show you."

He formed a series of hand seals, ones that he was familiar with from watching Jiraiya when the Toad Sage was demonstrating the concept of chakra to him when he was younger. Once he was done, he initiated the technique.

"Wind Release: Rising Dragon!" Naruto shouted, inhaling a breath of air that inhaled his lungs substantially, before letting it go with incredible destructive force, a blast of wind rocketing from his lips encompassed by a tornado, which whipped around it and formed the shape of a Chinese Firebolt Dragon. The Dragon's mouth at the head of the attack widened and engulfed the area in front of it, the ground being torn up, debris flying, walls crumbling, and the everything else just being blasted away.

When Naruto finished his demonstration, he let out a sigh of exasperation and turned back towards the others, where he saw Samui and Karui gawking at him from the results of his technique, while the self-proclaimed Sage was looking on with great interest. She suddenly smiled in delight and clapped her hands in almost congratulations, obviously entertained by the show, which Naruto had not been attempting to achieve.

"Wow! That was amazing!" the Sage exclaimed.

"Huh?" Naruto stared, looking a bit dumbstruck.

"You've taken my Wind Manipulation concept and, not only have you applied shape and direction to it, you've also given it a name! Awww… that is so cute!" the Sage exclaimed, clapping her hands frantically and bouncing on the spot. "Do it again! Do it again!"

"What? No!" Naruto shouted, before pointing at her. "If you really are the _**true**_ Sage of Six Paths, then _you_ should be able to do what I've just done! That technique has been passed on for over a hundred years, and it's one of the simplest…"

"That technique was created _**after**_ my time," the woman said, her cheerful mood dropping to just a plain smile on her face. "You see, I didn't actually create all the ninja techniques you ninja seem to be using today…"

"Huh?" Karui, Samui and Naruto replied, even more bewildered now then they were several seconds ago.

"True, I was a ninja in a past life, but all of my training beforehand was built upon the old ways of the shinobi: the warrior of the night. My skills and strengths as a ninja were so absolute that I earned the title of _Great Sage Ninja,_" she exclaimed, thumbing herself in the chest. "Once I had achieved all that I could in strengthening myself in the ways of the shinobi, I then began exploring the concepts of understanding, utilizing, and mastering the elemental forces around me. It was a way for me to achieve true enlightenment, and because I devoted most of my life to understanding energy, I discovered chakra, and through it, gained full control over all the elements in the world."

"That actually makes a lot of sense," a rather surprised Karui commented. "But… what could you do though, you know… using your chakra as a means of fighting…"

"My main goal was never to cause any harm to anyone with the knowledge and strengths that I had gained," the Sage stated, frowning a bit at the word 'fighting'. "The discoveries I made were a means of maintaining peace throughout the lands as the avatar of all elements: body and soul, light and dark, earth and sky, life and death. It was a way to enable people to better understand the world around them and preserve it. It was this knowledge of understanding I was hoping to pass on, and encourage as well as inspire others to follow in my footsteps…"

"But…?" Naruto said, spurring her on, sitting down to listen to the red haired woman's story.

"It was not until I left this world in the hands of my two students that I realized there was a significant difference between what we _**see**_ as an individual and what _**values**_ we hold onto as a person. I left most of my knowledge, teachings and powers to my only students, whom I hoped would pass on my wisdom wisely," the Sage stated, letting out a sigh. "You see, it was my two apprentices who improved my concept of chakra manipulation, and transformed them into completely new ninja techniques. Although they were both my students, the two of them held completely different ideals, and were still too young to fully comprehend what I myself had gained through years of experience. The one, whom I entrusted with my eyes to see all things, believed strength was the answer, and transformed my techniques into the most deadly of weapons. The younger of the two though, believed love was the answer to all the pains felt by others. Love being the purest of all things in this world, I chose him as my successor, for he took not only my teachings, but also my values to heart."

"That's incredible…" Naruto said, smiling. "So I guess, after you left, those two went on to help build the ninja world we know today…" But then, another realization clicked in his head, and after considering a lot of the things he did know, the blond sort of looked a little downhearted. Karui and Samui looked over at him in concern, suddenly detecting his downturn in mood. "Not to mention a cycle of war, hatred and pain…"

"Hmm… it's not as bad now as I had once thought though," the Sage exclaimed, smiling at the boy and shrugging. "I mean… the world's still around after six-hundred years… that's fine…"

"Yeah, but we've got even more problems today then ever before," Naruto stated, looking up at the red haired woman. "Sage… I mean… damn… do you have another name-like title we can give you? Geez. I have to give you a name…"

"How about _Vixen_; it goes with the ears?" Karui suggested, doing an ear imitation of her own.

"No… that would just be mean," Samui said, elbowing her friend. "Try something original…"

"How about Sagey?" Karui asked.

"Too dull…"

"Foxy?"

"Stop suggesting names," Samui snapped coolly, before looking over at the red haired girl. "Okay, you've got red hair and swirly eyes. Can't really build anything on that?"

"How about Mia? Mia is good," Naruto exclaimed, giving it a bit more thought. "It's simple, and easy to remember!"

"I like it!" the Sage exclaimed. "I've started a new life, so what the heck. Mia…Mia…Miiiiaaaaa…MIiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…MIA!"

"Don't wear it out," Karui said, giving her a half-smile. "Things can start sounding a little strange if you say it over a hundred times. Like this for instance…" The red-haired Kumo Genin picked up a rock lying beside her and held it in her palm, staring intently at it. "Rock. Rrrrrock. Rock…"

"Anyway…Sage of Six Paths…Mia!" Naruto said, turning his attention to her and smiling, with Karui continuing to pronounce the object's name in her hand in the background. "Since you've clearly mastered chakra control and have basically developed a clear understanding of a lot of the concepts… even todays' concepts… umm…"

"Yes," Mia replied.

"Question: How good are you with _seals_?"

* * *

_**An hour later…**_

It wasn't until later onwards did Naruto eventually introduce the self-proclaimed, resurrected Sage of Six Paths to the rest of his team. But of course, before that, after talking with the Great Sage some more, and after finding her a set of clothes to wear (a pair of baggy pants and samurai robes over that, and a pair of wooden sandals she made herself from scratch), the blond Genin and his two Kumo companions had to lead her out of the catacombs.

Unfortunately, finding their way back out proved a hell of a lot harder then when they did coming in, not counting the now childish, Great Sage they had to put up with, who was surprisingly clingy…

"_KAMI DAMMIT! DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING?" Karui shouted at the blond after they took another right and found a dead end._

"_Give him a break, Karui," Samui rounded on her friend, frowning on her. "He's baby sitting…"_

_Naruto found himself carrying the Sage of Six Paths (Mia) on his back, and was looking kind of annoyed. She was latched onto him, smiling happily and nuzzling his cheek as he walked along, clearly showing him a lot of affection. He was glad he was so strong otherwise it would have been exceedingly difficult carrying a person twice his height. At least she was light._

"_I know where we're going, don't worry," Naruto replied, before glancing to the young woman he was carrying. "And could you get off of me please, lady? Why are you still hugging me?"_

"_Ne! You released me, so that makes you my hero. I owe you my life, and hence, am in your debt!" she replied, before purring into his cheek. "You will make a fine husband for me!"_

_Naruto nearly fell over when he heard this, and Karui and Samui went slack jawed._

"_WHAAAAAAAAATTTTTT!" Karui roared in outrage and jealousy._

"_Like hell you will!" Samui shouted, storming up behind the woman and yanking her off of him. She then not s gingerly dropped her to the floor, and glared down at her, as if scolding a child. It made it even more hilarious that the Great Sage looked a little ashamed and upset. "Listen, if anyone is going to marry him, it's going to be me!"_

_Karui stared at her oddly, whereas Naruto was stretching out from losing the added weight. "Wow… where did that come from?" her teammate commented._

"_I…I mean…" Samui looked away, blushing fiercely and scratching her cheek in an embarrassed way. "You shouldn't make such foolish statements without deep consideration…"_

"_But I have made my decision," Mia exclaimed, smiling up at the girl. "I've thought about it for a bit…"_

"_Yeah… well… it's still too soon…"_

_Mia remained silent for a minute or so, looking between the blond haired girl, then back towards Karui who was also looking a bit displeased, then back to Naruto, who was waiting patiently for them to be finished. After considering what she has seen so far, the young Sage smiled and looked back at Samui._

"_Very well then, I will be his wife, and you can be his mistresses!" she exclaimed happily._

"_SAY WHAT!" all three of them shouted at her._

This discussion took up about a quarter of the time they used getting out of the tunnels. When they eventually did get out, Mia found herself under the scrutiny of the entirety of Team 7 and Team Samui. Even Killer Bee and Anko were staring at her in disbelief, all of them encircling her and taking their time looking her over. The red haired woman enjoyed the attention she was receiving, and smiled happily at all of the, not at all concerned about her wellbeing or of any danger imposed on her.

She wasn't intimated at all…

"Whatcha guys lookin' at?" she asked, looking at all the eyes locked onto her.

"This…" Anko pointed, looking over at her blond student. "We came all the way down here… for _**this**_?"

"Problems?"

"I find it hard to believe that you were able to find, not only a child with Rinnegan eyes, which nobody has even seen for thousands of years, but have also found a second, older, hotter girl with the exact same eyes in the span of a month! And on top of that, she claims to be the _**Sage of Six Paths**_… good lord," Anko sighed, shaking her head. She then looked back over at the red head and folded her arms. Looking her up and down again, the purple haired Jonin then smirked and looked back up into her eyes. "I've got to hand it to you though, Naruto,ou do know how to pick em'!"

"Please don't," the blond replied, ducking his head and hiding it under his wide-brimmed armored hat.

"You have the craziest adventures whenever you go off somewhere," Ino said, raising an eyebrow and she walked around the woman, getting more acquainted with her figure, and feeling a tad bit jealous. "_This is so unfair… she looks to be in her older teenage years, and she's got such a perfect figure! All the girls he meets are so good looking. Even his teacher…"_

"Quite a remarkable find," Omoi said, rubbing his chin in thought, while Isaribi next to him continued to look with interest up at the woman. "To think the Rinnegan actually exists! This is astonishing. Or are they the _**real**_ Rinnegan? Perhaps a mutation in a bloodline of another clan? Or is it a completely new kekkai genkai? Maybe we've discovered a long lost lineage…"

"She feels… nice…" Isaribi spoke, sensing a pure, warm aura about the woman. "It's like I can trust her…"

"Yo, Nightwalker!" Killer Bee began, glancing down at his short friend. "What's the real deal with this babe? Is she like, the real deal, or nay?"

"She says she is," Karui answered for him, placing her hands on her hips. "She's made a lot of sense so far… surprisingly enough…" Remembering how this woman was acting when she was let out of that box of hers, even to this point, it was pretty difficult to determine whether or not she was the genuine Sage.

"YOSH! And she is gorgeous!" Lee exclaimed, bowing to the woman. "It is a pleasure to meet such a youthful looking person."

"Why thank you," Mia grinned down at the boy, her cheeks reddening with delight at his compliment.

"Of course, if she really is the genuine Sage of Six Paths, prove it. She'll have to… you know… perform a technique for us; one that only the legendary ninja of all ninjas could perform," Sakura stated, looking judgingly upon the red headed female. "If she can do that, then I'll be convinced she's for real…"

"You're smart!" the Sage exclaimed, smiling at the pink haired girl. The red head walked up to her, and held up her right hand. "If you want proof, then I'll show you the window of time…"

"Huh…" Sakura was about to question what the woman was about to do, but before she even had the chance, Mia laid her hand atop of her head, and in a blink of an eye, the girl's eyes widened and became devoid of color.

Team 7 and Team Samui leapt away in shock, with Anko swiftly drawing a kunai in response to the sight, whereas Naruto just stood and watched on with interest, Killer Bee too.

"What are you doing?" Anko demanded, glaring at the woman, who simply smiled back.

"Relax Anko Mitarashi: Snake Mistress of Konohagakure, Miss Sakura Haruno will be fine…" Mia replied, before looking back down at the young girl, who seemed to stand there, staring up at the taller woman with a look of shock and calm on her face. The picture of emotions was clearly reflected in her eyes.

"Y-You're… inside my head…"

"I'm drawing on all your memories from your past, present and future," the Sage exclaimed, smiling kindly. "It's okay, there's nothing that will gravely upset the balance of anything; and they're just fragments only I can see, not what you can see unless I allow you."

"How in the world can you do that?" Anko asked, looking bewildered. "You can't see ahead in time! No normal human being can do that! It's impossible."

"I'm an impossible human… not normal at all," Mia stated, smiling as she was given the full preview of Sakura's life. "I can only see as far ahead as this child will live… which is a pretty long and happy life." Mia smiled, but then frowned when she saw other glimpses of things that could be in the future, and what could have been in the past. "Hmm… something appears to have gone wrong…"

"What?" Naruto asked, now a little bit concerned about what she was seeing.

"Events seemed to have skewed out of order… not what should have happened," Mia replied, removing her hand from the young girl's head, before looking around at the group. "Odd but… no big!" A smile returned to her face and she looked back at Anko and Naruto. "I know all your names and more. Apparently, she is in love with that boy there!" She pointed towards the spiky haired blond, who just smiled and rubbed the back of his head bashfully. "He's gotten around… he already has more then five girls buying for his affections…"

"Five?" Killer Bee queried, before grinning and turning to the boy, raising his fist towards him. "_Spanking, dude… never thought you had it in you! The play boy with no shadow, girls come outta the blue_!" Naruto bumped fists, grinning as well.

"That's Naruto!" Ino exclaimed, hopping over to him and wrapping her arms around his. "He's just awesome like that!"

Killer Bee shook his head, Anko just grinned and Lee gave his friend the thumbs up. Omoi just stood silently where he was, thinking, with Samui and Karui glaring with jealousy at the blond latched onto Naruto. Sakura shook herself off from the intrusion into her head, before walking over to her teammate and hugging him, earning a smile from Mia, as well as Isaribi to the side.

"Hey… if you can manipulate time through memories," Anko spoke, stepping towards the red haired woman in the center of the broken up circle, thumbing to her shoulder. "Do you think you can help me out with a problem of my own?"

"Sure…"

"I have a cursed seal stamped onto the side of my neck and it pains me to no end," Anko stated, rubbing the area where it was sizzling. "Do you think you can get rid of it?"

"Let me see it," Mia stated, making a hand gesture. Anko did as instructed and turned around, lowering her trench coat and exposing the area of skin where Orochimaru's Curse Mark was. The Sage watched as she knelt on the ground, and was able to get a good look at the black tomoe seal on her neck. She leant in and bit her index finger, looking cutely with curiosity, analyzing the seal with intrigue. Team 7 and Samui gathered, with Isaribi also getting a much closer look, wondering what she was planning to do.

Of course, when nothing happened for the next minute, with the Sage gazing with interest at the seal, patience wore thin. Anko's right eye twitched and she glared back over at the woman, teeth bared.

"Well? What?"

"…"

"Mia!" Naruto said, nudging the woman. The red head suddenly restarted spontaneously and let out a holler of laughter, which got Ino, Sakura, Killer Bee, Samui and Karui looking at her strangely. Omoi, Naruto and Lee were perhaps the only ones who were composed at the moment. They waited until she stopped laughing.

"What is it?" Anko asked, irritated.

"This… This is your big problem?" the woman asked, letting out another laugh. She leaned in and prodded the seal, the reaction from it being a red flare up on its surface, making Anko wince at the sudden, searing pain shooting through her from it. "The Seal of Heavenly Manipulation; full body and blood control, changes the gene structure and not only strengthens it, but also controls the person to a certain extent. I used to play around with something like this all the time. I had a great time at parties with it."

"Huh?" Anko murmured.

"It's a cheap trick; scares the pants off of you, but easy to get rid of," Mia stated, placing her left hand on it. "Strange though, I could have sworn I threw this away…"

"Well… can you get it off of me now?" Anko asked.

"Of course. Just like this!" Mia stated, placing her right hand on Anko's head, causing the same thing that happened to Sakura to happen to her. Everyone seemed to blink in surprise as the red head smirked and applied more pressure to her grip on the seal on the Jonin's neck where the seal was, smoke beginning to rise from between her fingers. "You've got some memories locked up; I'll release them as well. Be warned… this might sting…"

There was a loud zap and Anko let out a shriek and fell forward onto all fours, withering. Mia smiled as her hands latched free, her left hand steaming a bit. She looked down at it, and found the Cursed Seal imprinted on her hand, before it faded away. Satisfied, she then watched as the Jonin struggled back up, with Sakura and Naruto helping their sensei up. When they all looked at the place where Mia's hand was, they saw to their astonishment the patch of skin covered by the burn mark of a red hand print, before that faded away, leaving nothing but clean skin. No mark whatsoever.

Everyone was amazed, even Isaribi, who knew she had just watched something impossible happen.

"Incredible!" Ino exclaimed.

"Unbelievable," Sakura also said.

"Fantastic!" Omoi said, clapping his hands together loudly. "Simply amazing…"

"YOSH! Amazing!" Lee said, punching his fist in the air. "Feeling better sensei? More lively?"

"I…I feel…" Anko began speaking, looking up in shock. "I feel… light… like a whole load of weight has been lifted off of me…" She literally sprang to her feet and looked at where the Cursed Seal once was, only to find that it was gone. The Jonin traced over the patch of skin, pure amazement reflected in her eyes. "It…It's gone!"

Naruto grinned, looking towards Mia with arms folded. "You're a miracle worker…"

Mia returned his comment with a gratifying smile. "Thank you…"

"Hey! Hey!" Isaribi bounded forward. "Can you help me? Please?"

Mia looked down at her, blinking in surprise. "Oh… Isaribi was it?" The purple haired girl nodded frantically, with Naruto coming to stand by her side in support, and also to calm her down. He gestured towards the girl as he took her by her shoulder.

"I promised I'd help her when I brought her back to Konoha, but since you're here… maybe you can help her out," Naruto stated, reaching up and removing the bandages around the girl's face. Mia leaned in with wide eyes, immediately becoming fascinated with the scales being exposed to her. A lot of the others crowded around, also intrigued. "Orochimaru performed experiments on her, and transformed her into a human-amphibian hybrid. Unfortunately for her, these scales still show on her normal skin whenever she reverts back."

Isaribi stepped forward again, looking at the young woman pleadingly. "C-Can you make my appearance human again? I…I still want to be able to transform though…"

"Sure," Mia said with a smile. Before she proceeded though, she reached out and prodded her skin, earned a whimper from the girl. "She's a chimera! Oh wow! I haven't seen a chimera in years…" Without another word, the red head then ran her fingertips over the scales on her face and, like an eraser, got rid of them. It was quick and decisive, with Isaribi responding to a sudden numbing feeling all over her body. Mia let out a sigh and looked down at her hand, seeing the scales smeared over it, and fading away like the Cursed Seal. She dusted her hand down and grinned down at the girl. "There. Done."

Isaribi looked over herself, with Naruto helping to remove her bandages. It came as a great shock to her to see that all her scale marks and blemishes were completely gone, and within seconds of looking herself over, became overwhelmed with joy. She let out, laughing, and hugged the red haired woman, crying into her shirt and thanking her to no end. She then hugged Naruto, who didn't expect that, but accepted it all the same.

A loud growling noise got everybody else's attention, and swung them out of their celebrative moods. Mia giggled and rubbed her stomach area, blushing in embarrassment.

"Uhh… can I get something to eat around here? I'm starving!" she exclaimed.

"Really? You seem fine to me," Ino spoke up.

"I haven't eaten in about a thousand years, so cut me some slack… or… you know… some pork…"

While Mia was given some protein bars and other food from a lot of the Genin, who also asked her to help her with some of their problems, Naruto took Isaribi aside and double-checked her skin, which he found to be completely cleared up. Anko and Killer Bee joined the two, and watched with amusement as the Genin asked the resurrected Sage about her past life, and whether she could clear up their scars and illnesses, to which she answered them as best as she could.

"Quite a person you managed to find," Anko chuckled, placing her hands on her hips. "The Sage of Six Paths… I have to say… that is beyond impressive…"

"She's a got an awesome set of skills on her! Wouldn't want her to wander off without yer!" Killer Bee rapped out.

"Yeah… not to mention I'm stuck with her," Naruto let out a sigh, shrugging. "Still, I wouldn't mind having her around."

"So she's coming to live with you," Anko said, nodding her head in understanding. "Another two girls picked up on a mission. You don't do any wrong, do you? You _**must**_ have friends on the other side helping you along brat…geez…"

"Depends on your point of view," Naruto stated, shaking his head. "I swear, I brush with _Death_ so many times, I should high five him when I pass him. It's ridicules…" Before he could go into full blown complaining mode, Isaribi wrapped her arms around his and hugged him affectionately. The blond looked at her, seeing her smiling up at him.

"Thank you so much, Naruto-kun…"

"Anytime Isaribi," Naruto said, grinning.

While the group continued to pester the red head Rinnegan girl and Anko and Isaribi watched on with amusement, Naruto glanced up at Killer Bee and grinned.

"It's quite fortunate you showed up when you did, old friend," Naruto began, with his Kumo buddy glancing down at him in response. "I may have asked this before, but I just plain forget…who hired you guys anyway?"

"Dunno… some babe wearing a weird cloak with cloud patterns on it," Killer Bee replied, shrugging his shoulders. "She was nice. She said she digged my rapping, yo!"

Naruto blinked, raising an eyebrow at Killer Bee. He seemed to shake when his friend mentioned cloud patterned cloaks, and gave the glasses wearing Jinchuriki more attention, and pressed home on the subject.

"Cloud patterns? What did she look like?"

"Not sure…" Killer Bee thought, rubbing his chin with his fingers. "Never saw her face; she always kept her hood up. But I do remember one thing…" He turned back to Naruto, pointing to his right eye. "She had this killer eye; a Sharingan! Don't know if I was tripping or somethin', but it had red swirlies instead of black, and the iris in the background was dark too…black as coal…"

Naruto's eyes widened and he looked ahead of him in shock. He thought back to his battle with Kajika, where he remembered seeing his eyes glowing with the exact same Sharingan when he was suddenly possessed. He also thought back to his bingo book, where he remembered seeing a silhouette photograph of an unknown ninja, with that exact same eye pictured in it.

"_It can't be…"_

* * *

_**Elsewhere…**_

Marching through a distant forest, draped in the same black cloak with a hood and red clouds, the mysterious stranger walked on. She had been for several hours, now, traveling through these woods almost aimlessly. It was until she arrived at a particular clearing at the center of the forest, where she stopped just after entering it.

She stood there, glaring ahead of her through the shadows of her covers, waiting and listening. Her two Sharingan glowed, the red tomoes illuminated, and producing an aura of unease. This tension in the air did not go unnoticed, and as expected, another guest arrived on the scene.

Her brow furrowed and her tomoes spun, eyes glancing behind her when the sound of space displacement could be heard. A revving of energy filled the air as a small black hole opened behind her and began to spin, atoms and particles spilling out into the open air, and filling the once empty space. Seconds later, as the hooded female turned to face the clearing behind her, she was quickly met with the orange, swirly patterned mask, and single, blazing Sharingan of her new arrival.

They faced each other, Uchiha confronting Uchiha.

Or so it seemed.

"It's you…" the masked man spoke, his voice deep and hauntingly dark with malice, "_**The**_ _**Abomination**_ of the Uchiha Clan…"

"Why… Madara Uchiha is it… or is it just the name you choose to go by these days…Obito?" the female spoke, but then furrowed her brow again. "Wait… no… not Obito… I think the name _Juubi_ is more appropriate…"

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

* * *

**__****_Author's Note:_** Wow what a twist! I was actually planning on having someone else pop out of the caskett (like Mito Uzumaki, the Zero Tailed Slug or an OC), but I decided to go with the Sage of Six Paths. However, instead of going with the whole wise, insanely powerful, and perhaps semi-good-semi-evil character idea, I decided to go with a completely different concept.

You see, from my point of view, in reality, if anyone had to be as powerful as the Great Sage of all ninja, then they wouldn't or just have to be incredibly wise, but would also be a bit of a whack job from knowing and creating everything he/she did or had. I mean, you can't create something out of nothing without insane imagination, vision, or anything like that (a mind of a child, insanity, an idea... it all connects in a way). So instead of going with all-knowing, wise, power flaunting, mystical and mysterious, I decided to go with the the Great Sage who knows only a lot of things from her time, but near nothing when it comes to modern day stuff, and a complete dunce, as well as an idiot, which is what also makes my version of the Sage so powerful in her own way. Able to do things that are impossible by modern ninja's standards whether intentional or unintentional, acts naive, and screws up a hell of a lot of times, and isn't afraid of anything.

Lol, she's my creation and I think she is adorable.


	25. The Ame Orphans

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_The Ame Orphans_

"You know me," the masked, self-proclaimed Madara Uchiha spoke, glaring at the hooded woman with hate burning in his one visible Sharingan eye. The cloaked figure however, did not flinch one bit. "How is it that you know me…?"

"Because…Madara Uchiha is long dead, for that I am certain," the woman replied, tilting her head at the masked man. "Yet… here he is… standing before me like a ghost. A disgusting, bubbling, mass of hatred and malice…"

"But how can you be sure I really am or not Madara," the man asked, lowering his head, and pointing towards her, making sure she was always in plain sight of him. "You were born years after my time…Uchiha. No being in this land has knowledge of me."

"A full blooded, genius, adult Uchiha, well versed in the Sharingan, is a highly dangerous and fiercely perceptive opponent. Your lies and deceit will not work on me," the hooded figure replied, remaining where she stood. "My eyes see more then you can ever dream of."

"An Uchiha who survived the massacre all those years ago," Madara mused, giving the woman a bit more of a look over. "I was sloppy… because I seemed to have missed one. Still…I have very little knowledge of you; a female Uchiha who bears a mutated version of the Sharingan, an Uchiha unworthy of existence. You are an abnormality, a rogue ninja… an unknown anomaly. Name yourself!" He voice climbed to a degree of nervousness, and he was also becoming more demanding by the second.

This being seemed to scare him more then anything else in the world.

The woman chuckled and reached up, tiling her hood a little and flashing her strangely colored Sharingan, the tomoes spinning in her iris.

"You've finally met someone whom you have no knowledge of whatsoever," the figure giggled, showing no fear whatsoever. "It's starting to become clear to me now. You are nothing what you used to be. You are not Madara… you are just a puppet…"

The eyes behind the swirl-pattern mask flinched, and a sudden jolt in his chakra alerted the woman to danger.

"We're done here," the masked man stated, and in a blink of an eye, lunged at the young woman, Sharingan widening as he reached out to grab her.

The hooded figure responded instantly, a cluster of kunai suddenly appearing out of her right sleeve in between her fingers. She threw the barrage his way, only for every single blade to pass right through him. She stepped back, just as Madara was within arms reach, his hand inches away from the side of her face. He obviously had the intention to unmask her before he destroyed her, and it was these two things she was never going to let him do.

The moment his hand was barely millimeters away from her face, she acted. The cloaked Uchiha suddenly began pulling back, fading away in a matter of speaking. Her body dematerialized in the form of cubes, which vanished away from her one after the other, before completely vanishing in the blink of an eye. She vanished into thin air right before Madara's eye, the masked Uchiha blinking in shock as his hand grabbed nothing but air.

"WHAT?"

All of a sudden, a hand appeared out of nowhere and wrapped itself around Madara from behind him, palm extended. Before he could even react, a ball of fire formed inside the palm and exploded outwards, just as the rest of the owner's body reappeared behind him. The blast of flames scorched the masked Uchiha, and was blown back about twenty meters from the fire ball.

Clothes burnt, and masked cracked, Tobi furrowed his brow and glared angrily at his target, which just stood passively where she reappeared.

"Teleportation?" Madara stated, easily recognizing the type of technique. _"But that was no ordinary teleportation… she just appeared solid for a moment, but then broke apart… maybe some sort of reality manipulation. Whatever it was… I've never seen it before in my life…"_

"Bunkai Teleport," the woman stated, stepping forward. "A technique that is beyond even you, coward…"

Madara just glared at the woman, who responded to his threatening glare with a swipe of her hand movement, and all of a sudden, a cluster of weirdly shaped kunai appeared in her left hand. They were oval shaped, with grooves in them and jags, with the symbol of Uzushiogakure stamped on the sides of each of them.

The masked Uchiha responded in kind to the appearance of these blades in kind, throwing both hands out and falling out of the sleeves of his pure black cloak, chains unraveled and fell to the earth, followed by scythe like blades on the end of each of them. The duel Kusarigama chains hung out loosely, and with a simple swiping movement, sent both of them flying at his target. They slashed through the air and coiled around the hooded Uchiha several times before nailing themselves into the ground, trapping her.

However, her hand with her kunai was still free, and after feeling the chains wrap around her, she threw them at the masked man. But unlike a regular kunai throw, the moment the blades left her fingers, they broke the sound barrier in mid-flight, and with a crack of lightning speed, struck Madara repeatedly, who crossed his arms over his face to shield himself from the barrage that sent him off of his feet.

He was flung into a tree, blades sticking into him one after the other, with several of the knives thrown slicing straight through the chains that bound his target. The Uchiha female managed to wiggle out of them, and stepped out of the clearing, approaching the pinned man.

"You're getting slack," she spoke. "Not ready for this confrontation?"

The man huffed and glared heatedly up at his opponent, his mask cracking even more from the kunai lodged in his forehead. The cracks in his mask spread.

"I am not done with you yet, _Abomination_," Madara growled. "I only came out here to find out what that strange chakra signature was. And here I find a long, lost, Uchiha wandering the forest."

"Correct," the woman replied. "I wanted to draw you out, so that we could meet face to face. Know your enemy…"

"I'll ask again; who are you?"

"We _will_ meet again one day, shadow of the moon," the woman said, raising her hand towards the man. She then held up three fingers to emphasize the words to follow. "We will see each other three times…" She lowered one of her fingers. "This is the first time."

"…"

She then lowered a second finger…

"The second time we meet will be where _you_ die…"

She then lowered her last, index finger.

"The third time we meet will be on _your_ death bed," she stated.

Madara stepped away from the woman, becoming incredibly disturbed by her words, but was not able to show it visually due to his mask. Lowering his head, he then suddenly began to vanish as he usually did, his body becoming sucked in a whirlpool like fashion into his eye, vanishing into a miniature black hole. His mask fell away from his face before he disappeared; landing on the grass the exact moment he completely vanished.

The woman lowered her hand and walked towards the mask. She swooped down and picked it up, holding it in her right hand and analyzing it.

After looking at the fractured shell of a mask, she shrugged and tossed it aside, where it struck a rock and shattered.

"Everything has its time…"

* * *

_**Back at Uzushiogakure**_

"I could go for some ramen right now!" Mia sang, while dancing around the combined Konoha and Kumo Shinobi Teams with seemingly boundless energy. Her singing and giggling were kind of making the rest of them feel tired, since she had so much energy to spend and the whole ordeal was a little bit exhausting for a full day's work. "Ramen! Ramen! Ramen! Ramen! Bowl of noodle soup I love! YAY!"

"Geez, you already ate all our protein bars and everything else we had on us," Ino groaned, watching as the girl skipped around her. "If you want something else to eat, you're just going to have to wait till we get back home."

"I know, I'm just thinking about Ramen!" the girl continued to sing, kicking up sand as the group finally made it to the ocean. As soon as they cleared the forest and ruins and made it back to where this all started, everyone was relieved.

Sakura, who was still watching the young red-head bounding around them, grinned and nudged Naruto, who glanced over at her.

"You see that?" she asked.

"See what?"

"That's a happy, go-lucky you as a girl?" Sakura exclaimed.

"HEY!" Naruto shouted, earning a grin from the pink haired girl, who grabbed his arm and hugged him close.

"I'm just joking…" Her tone was easily recognized as amused, and she followed this statement up with an apologetic kiss on the cheek. "I like you just the way you are."

Just as Naruto and Sakura were sharing a smile together, Ino unexpectedly leapt onto his back and hugged him, almost making the boy stumble. Although, he did give off a rather surprised yell when she nuzzled him cheek to cheek, inconveniently putting her head between his cheek and Sakura, who was just as stunned by her actions.

"Yo! Whatever it is you two are doing now, I want to do it as well!"

"Ino-chan…" Naruto groaned, grinning.

"Ino-Pig!" Sakura huffed, folding her arms.

"Hey… who are those two?" Isaribi suddenly asked, jogging up alongside Naruto, Sakura and Ino. The three Genin looked up in surprise, staring off into the direction the purple haired teen was. Anko, Killer Bee, Lee and the other members of Team Samui also joined them, while the Sage of Six Paths danced around in the background. Aside from her, everybody else looked across from the very edge of the ocean touching the sands just a few paces in front of them, towards the horizon where the Land of Fire was.

"Who do you see?" Anko asked, putting her hand over her eyes.

"Look! There are two people on the water right in front of us, and they appear to be walking on it!" Isaribi continued, looking up at the adults. "Can't you see them?"

"Yes, I see them!" Ino exclaimed, getting a better view by clambering on top of Naruto's shoulders, having been on his back. The boy allowed her the crows nest view, as he too examined the channel in front of them. "Hmm… I can't make them out though…"

"But they are definitely walking towards us," Sakura also said, stepping closer and trying to get a better look at the distant figures. "Hmm… walking across the channel… why didn't we think of that?"

"We did," Karui said, drawing the pink haired girl's attention towards her. The red head shrugged. "Technically we sprinted across and around to get ahead of you. The ocean was calm anyway…"

"No kidding," Sakura mumbled.

"Focus guys," Omoi interrupted. "We don't know who those two are or what they want, but if they are heading in our direction, walking across the water no less, then that means we are their target."

"Are you sure about that?" Karui asked her teammate.

"Positive," Omoi replied. "Apparently, nobody else comes to this island, or has for years, so what possible motive could they have for walking across the ocean towards us…"

"Well, they've clearly spotted us," Anko stated, flicking her wrist with a kunai shooting out of her sleeve. "If they want trouble…"

"Whoa, calm yourself down, Mitarashi Anko…" Killer Bee said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Won't wanna make a careless mistake, yo!"

"Believe me, I don't intend to…" Anko said, reaching out and taking Isaribi by the shoulder, gently leading her to stand behind her.

"Neither do I," Naruto replied, also flicking his right wrist, his hidden blade shooting out from under his sleeve.

The group waited, and watched as the two figures walking across the channel drew nearer. It was when they were within range that the two shinobi teams could clearly make out significant details about them that Naruto got the shock of his life. He stepped back, Ino hopping off of his shoulders as he took a defensive stance, a hardened glare forming on his face. Everybody else responded characteristically to his sudden change in mood, and readied themselves.

The black cloaks with red cloud patterns could not be mistaken.

"Akatsuki…" Naruto whispered.

In just a few minutes, the two Akatsuki members were in clear sight and effective medium combat range, and stopped on the water, glaring at the two Genin teams under their wide-brimmed, tassel lined straw hats.

Silence fell, save for the light waves of the channel landing against the shoreline and the seagulls cawing in the distance.

The ringing of the ornamental torque hanging from one of the pair's hats broke the quiet, and Naruto stepped forward.

"What is it that you two want?" the blonde demanded.

"Oh… an excellent way to start!" Lee exclaimed, quite literally breaking the mood of the conversation, and making Naruto scowl hilariously ahead of him at the fume-lit icebreaker. "With lots of fire and heart! Keep it up!"

The two Akatsuki members looked around the island briefly, as if scanning for any ambushes, before glancing back at the group, and analyzing it. Eventually, the two of them reached up with a free hand and removed their hats. They tossed them aside, revealing two very unfamiliar faces to the group. Not even Naruto recognized them.

The taller one on the left had orange spiky hair and tanned skin, with blue eyes and the Hidden Rain Village headband stretched across his forehead, a clear scar carved across it. He also had a single, large piercing in his right ear, a small, black bar that pierced the top and bottom of the lobe. His companion had short blue hair with a white, paper flower in her hair. She had fair skin, mascara, a bud piercing under her bottom lip, and the same piercing her comrade had in her right ear. Furthermore, both of them looked intimidating as hell, particularly the orange haired one, who stood quite tall, and looked to have a solid build, even with his cloak on.

"We are looking for one of our former comrades," Yahiko spoke.

"Rumors say that he has been in this area quite recently," Konan followed up. "We believe our colleague has left some baggage behind, and we have come to retrieve it…"

Naruto was a little bit surprised at that answer as were everybody else, who were now looking about the beach in response to the statement, as if looking for a particular person gone missing. Of course, as far as they could see, they couldn't find any traces of 'somebody' else.

"Let me guess… Orochimaru?" Naruto asked.

Both Akatsuki members locked onto him, and glared. They glanced at each other once, before turning back to him, choosing to focus attention on the source in front of them.

"Do you know where he is?" Konan asked.

"Not a clue…" Naruto flatly replied.

"Yet…_**you**_ seem to have a certain amount of Intel concerning the subject matter at hand… details and information on the person we are searching for," Yahiko led up, tilting his head at the group. "How curious…"

"My master has been hunting him for years, so I've been on the receiving end of a lot of his stories of heroism," the blonde said, furrowing his brow. "If you want information, go ask him… although… I should tell you now that it will be just as difficult to find him as it will be in finding your other quarry…."

"And who might your master be?" Yahiko asked.

Naruto hesitated, and looked up at Anko, who shrugged at him. The others just listened, with Killer Bee sizing up the newcomers standing on the water. Mia on the other hand, seems to have become more preoccupied with the shells on the beach, and was at the moment, making a rather impressive sand castle behind them.

"I'd rather not say," Naruto said, clearing his throat awkwardly. "He'd prefer to remain anonymous…"

"Please tell us his name," Konan spoke, lowering her head at the boy, but still speaking calmly. "We do not feel like interrogating people today… so be compliant, or we _**will**_ use force."

Rather then starting a war with these two that could very well destroy the island they were standing on, the blonde opted to be more inclined with answering their questions. Any way was better then dying here.

"Fine then," he sighed. "His name is Jiraiya: Great Sage of Mount Myobokuzan…"

The two Akatsuki members visibly flinched at the name and stepped backwards a couple, with Naruto and everybody else raising an eyebrow at their reactions. The unease was quickly picked up, and the two teams began drawing up various conclusions.

"Heard of him, huh?" Samui said.

"Everybody knows of Jiraiya," Sakura smirked, tilting her head at the pair, "One of the most formidable and successful ninjas in all of shinobi history. If you've heard of him, you will definitely be trembling in your boots."

"Really?" Anko mumbled, looking up in thoughts trailing off from her. "Hmm… not really the impression I'm getting of him at the moment…"

"Master Jiraiya," Konan spoke, looking up at her teammate, who also looked down at her. "That's a name I haven't heard in a while…"

"The Great Toad Sannin…" Yahiko murmured. "Intelligence on him has been light, but from what we have gathered… he has been getting around quite…a…bit…?"

The orange haired man then suddenly became distracted, when he spotted the red haired, attractive woman outside of the group, literally running rings around the shinobi in front of him. Konan also reciprocated this curiosity, and was a bit put off by the person her teammate turned towards.

Naruto, Anko, Killer Bee and pretty much everybody else also became sidetracked by their extra baggage's antics, and watched as the red haired, half-demon, stopped close at the water side to their right, where she then focused great attention on a fiddler crab crawling across the sand at her feet. Both sides observed as she laughed outright happily down at the little creature, before squatting right beside it.

The Sage and the crustacean seemed to stare at each other, making a brief analysis of the sight before them, and becoming even more interested in the other.

Mia giggled and extended her hand down to it. "Hi! I'm Mia!"

The crab surprisingly returned the handshake without any pinching whatsoever. It audibly clicked and made small bubbly noises that Teams 7 and Samui could hear from the sidelines.

"Nice to meet you, Larry!"

The crab clicked and gurgled some more.

"Really? Why thank you! You are looking very handsome yourself!"

The crab waved its claw around, frothing loudly and clicked at the end.

"Yes, I do work out…"

As the two unlikely individuals continued talking, everyone, including the two Akatsuki members, developed animated sweat drops on their heads, and stared with mixtures of disturbed and bewildered expressions on their faces.

"What in the world is she doing?" Ino asked.

"She appears… to be talking… to a crab…" Karui continued.

"Should we be concerned?" Isaribi also asked, blinking.

"After the day I've had, I'm not sure if I should even care anymore," Naruto stated.

Yahiko and Konan just stared, looking at each other, then back. After a minute or so, Mia let the crab go on his way, before looking up towards the two new bees. When she saw them, she blinked as she examined their appearances and choice of clothing, before smiling happily, getting up, and running towards the two. The Akatsuki pair became incredibly troubled when she skipped across the water, and leaned right up into their faces, making them lean back a bit and stare oddly down at her.

The peculiar red head smiled and held her hand out to them.

"Hi! I'm Mia!"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

Nothing happened for the next few seconds as the playful Sage of Six Paths waited eagerly for a handshake, and Yahiko and Konan continued to look at the abnormal female from head to toe, with great intent and caution. Team 7 and Team Samui were absolutely bewildered by the woman's antics at this point. They were all aware of the sudden danger that had just stepped onto this land's shores, and Mia was getting right up to them, face to face, without a care in the world. This was beyond insanity.

However, she continued to act as casually and happily as she would with anybody else, and smiled in a friendly manner towards the two S-Class shinobi.

It was until Yahiko eventually did shake hands with her did a development actually occur between them.

"It's so nice to meet you…" Mia said, shaking his hand enthusiastically.

Yahiko frowned, noticing the pigmentation in the woman's eyes, as well as recognizing elements of the attire the person wore. At first he was inwardly struck with disbelief, but refused to show this reaction outwardly. Instead, he calmly relinquished his hand from the female, as she went on to shake hands with Konan, and smile politely at the pair.

"You possess the Rinnegan…" Yahiko pointedly said, glaring into the woman's eyes.

The girl nodded.

"Yup!"

"Who might _you_ be, exactly?"

"I just told you… I'm Mia!"

The members of Team 7 standing behind her fell over at this, with Killer Bee just shaking his head in disbelief. Yahiko cleared his throat, before continuing.

"You wouldn't happen to be related to a person named Nagato… would you?"

"I have no idea who he is!" she replied happily.

Yahiko just frowned and nodded to her. "Well… it has been a real pleasure to meet you… Mia…"

"It was nice meeting you too!" Mia replied, before turning heel and walking off to go explore some more.

Shrugging the incident off as an inconvenience, Yahiko refocused attention on the group. Konan remained passive at his side, staring after the estranged woman.

"You have some… _interesting…_company…" Yahiko stated.

"You'd be surprised," Naruto replied.

"We already have one who possesses the Rinnegan on our side… we do not need another," the man continued, before glaring in Killer Bee's direction. "Our plans do not include such factors, nor are we concerned in investing time in them. However… we do have our orders to follow…"

Konan turned back to face the group, and refocused attention on the spiky haired blonde.

"Tell us where we can find Orochimaru, and we will let you go with your lives…"

"We have nothing to do with that scum outside of stories and rumor," Naruto said, stepping forward again to better reassert his position. "Now just leave us be…"

"I'm afraid that's out of the question," Yahiko said, flicking his left arm and holding it out. Suddenly, a large Dadao blade suddenly flew out of his cloak. It was abut his height in length, and it seemed highly unlikely he was able to keep it hidden inside his cloak and draw it with such a spring loaded action. Twirling the blade, the orange haired man propped it on his shoulder, while continuing to eye his targets. "We came here for a reason, and until you give us Orochimaru's location, I will not let up…"

Team 7 was starting to look a little bit more worried, while Team Samui took their threats to act with more caution. Anko and Killer Bee however were not having any of this, and immediately leapt forward in defense of their students. Blades drawn by both shinobi, the Snake Jonin and the Guardian of Kumogakure landed on the surface of the water in the shallows, and took defensive stances.

"Back off," Anko glared.

"_If yah wanna leave this island still alive, yah better turn around, or prepare to die!_" Killer Bee stated, twirling his two blades in either hand.

Unbeknownst to the pair, their landing on the water's surface created a ripple, which spread outwards across the calm water, before making contact with Yahiko and Konan's feet. The orange haired Akatsuki member flinched and, twirling his sword, thrust it out and jabbed it in Killer Bee's direction.

"You are the container of the Eight-Tailed Giant Ox, the Hachibi," Yahiko stated.

This statement caught Killer Bee and Anko off guard. The shock could clearly be seen written on their faces.

"Hey! How'd you know that?" Killer Bee asked in surprise.

"You have an incredibly dark, potent, and immense chakra signature, opposite to, and corresponding with a second, incredibly flexible lightning chakra nature, also quite powerful," Yahiko replied, calmly and smoothly. "The Eight-Tails is nestled within your stomach by a Iron Armor Seal… most difficult to remove. Being the second most powerful Jinchuriki, you have an incredibly high level of chakra, almost on par with my own. A high S-Rank shinobi…" He then pointed towards Anko. "You have an unusual fire chakra nature, incredibly high, easily an A-Rank combatant."

Killer Bee and Anko looked at each other, and then back at the orange haired man. Konan remained silent behind him, whereas Team 7 and Team Samui watched with extreme caution and with slight surprise from behind their senseis. Naruto was shocked, looking between Yahiko and Konan. So far, he has witnessed incredible perceptive abilities by the two Akatsuki members, which exceeded even his expectations of them.

Yahiko brought his sword back and propped it onto his shoulder. "Conclusion; I will be able to fight on par with the Hachibi if he was to unleash the demon from within him, but at this level, both of you are as good as dead…"

"How the hell can you know that?" Anko asked, raising her kunai up a little bit more.

"My companion is in a league of his own, far above your level," Konan stated, looking over the ninja on the beach. "By stepping onto the water, you have given away your strengths and weaknesses…"

Anko flinched. _"So that's it… the orange haired one must have a Water Nature Chakra, and has mastered it to such an extent that he can immediately judge a person's chakra level just by them coming in contact with his element,"_ the purple haired woman thought, furrowing her brow. _"He is dangerous…"_

Yahiko frowned. "Now… on to business…" In the blink of an eye, a wave of water formed around him and swiftly moved in a circular motion. A booming whip-crack was heard, and suddenly a narrow stream of water shot out from the man's right. The torrent of water shot at a high velocity straight at Killer Bee, striking him full on in the stomach and pushed him at sonic flight across the beach and straight into the forests behind the group. An explosion and a shockwave followed, making everybody stagger and effectively scatter.

The clouds of dust rising from the forest in the aftermath eventually revealed the results of the attack. A large gash was drawn along the beach and formed a gap in the trees, where Killer Bee had torn through in his flight.

"SENSEI!" Karui shouted. Samui, Omoi and everybody else rounded on their teachers' attacker. Anko and Naruto especially took up positions at the front lines, before being accompanied by Lee and Samui, all four of them forming a defensive line.

"Stay right where you are!" Anko shouted.

"I intend to…" Yahiko replied, raising his hand. With his sword still locked in his palm, he extended fingers towards the group.

All of a sudden, Sakura, Ino, Isaribi, Karui and Omoi were lifted off of their feet, and flew straight towards the Akatsuki, Naruto didn't have time to react when all four of them suddenly stopped in mid-flight right in front of the orange haired shinobi, who continued to keep them suspended in the air. Naruto and the others who weren't targeted watched horror struck as their teammates withered in the air, their limbs flailing strangely, as if the fluids in their systems were being warped and distorted under the Akatsuki member's control.

Anko, Lee, Naruto and Samui could only watch as their friends remained where they were, struggling to breathe where they were hung. The two Akatsuki stood in wait, but Konan was a little bit uncomfortable with the method her partner was using.

She had seen it before, and it didn't end well…

"On your knees," Yahiko stated.

"Stop it!" Samui shouted. "What are you doing to them?"

"Wherever there is water, I can control, so long as a shinobi's chakra is inactive and their guard is lowered," Yahiko spoke. "If it is, it gives me complete access to the blood coursing through their veins…"

"They have nothing to do with this!" Naruto roared, stepping forward. "LET THEM GO!"

"Give us what we need and I will let them go," the man replied, still showing no signs of emotion whatsoever. "If you don't… they will die."

Team 7 and Team Samui were practically backed up into a corner, and only within a matter of minutes of being confronted by the Akatsuki pair. Naruto desperately looked towards his friends now being held captive in mid-air.

They were in pain where they floated, and in showed. They were all gasping for air, and looking pleadingly towards their teammates for support. Karui and Sakura made several attempts to reach for their weapons, but to no success. Their arms went the other way, as the pressure in their chests prevented them from breathing, and they were literally drowning for air.

Yahiko awaited a response, the hand he held up keeping control over the suspended children tightening its grip, whereas Konan was looking between her teammate and the Genin he was controlling.

Anko gritted her teeth nervously; sweat pouring from her face as she attempted to come up with strategy to save them, whereas Lee and Samui were desperately thinking of a way to save their friends.

"Fine…" Naruto said, retracting his hidden blades and straightening himself, holding his hands up. Anko glanced at him, watching as her student walked further out onto the water.

"What are you doing, gaki?" she hissed.

"Something stupid," he whispered back. He stopped several meters out. "I'll come quietly if you let my friends live…"

"N-Naruto…" Sakura whizzed, looking over at her teammate through a blurring vision. "D-Don't…" Isaribi and Ino were bewildered by Naruto openly giving himself in to this man's demands to save them; even Karui and Omoi were startled.

Yahiko blinked, while Konan watched the boy with caution.

"Will you give me the information I want?" Yahiko asked.

Naruto gave a silent nod in response.

The orange haired Akatsuki shinobi and his partner glanced at each other, and began mellowing over the boy's offer until they were interrupted by a familiar voice rattling at their heads. The sudden appearance of the voice made the pair jump on the spot.

"_**What do you two think you are doing?"**_

The pair looked up towards the sky; eyes widened and sweat trickling down their foreheads. The voice came in on the wind out of no where, and it shook the two subordinates to the core as to who it was that was speaking to them.

The piercings on their right ear gave them a link to their teammate who was able to speak with them, but it was highly unorthodox of their friend to unexpectedly jump in on them like this.

Naruto and the others became a little surprised at the sudden lack of focus of their enemies.

"Pein?" Konan whispered.

Seizing his chance, Naruto charged and lunged at Yahiko, who glanced back at him with an off-guard expression as he saw the blond flying in his direction. He didn't have time to react when a black blade like rod materialized out of nowhere and slashed the air in front of him, the orange haired man whipping his sword around and striking out at the invisible attacker. Konan too retreated when she too was attacked, and in the pair's retreat, control over the four Genin was effectively relinquished.

Naruto, accompanied by Anko, caught Sakura, Ino, Karui, Omoi and Isaribi all at once, swiping through the air. Anko grabbed Naruto's jacket as he used his father's teleportation jutsu, effectively bringing them back to the shore, all of them tumbling across the sand upon landing. When they all looked back, they saw Mia standing at their defense on the water's surface, a black katana held in her right hand and a black shakujo staff held in the other. She was glaring at the Akatsuki pair, who had managed to leap back a distance of thirty meters to avoid being sliced up when she teleported right in between them.

The red headed Sage had managed to land a blow on Yahiko, who had a pole sticking right through his right shoulder with blood leaking out of the entry and exit wound. However, he stood where he was completely unfazed by the weapon sticking through his body.

Mia glanced over to see if the others were alright (particularly Naruto), and smiled when she saw Killer Bee stagger out of the forest behind them.

"Apparently they are not so friendly after all…" she exclaimed.

Karui, after choking back air into her lungs, snarled and shook a fist at the woman.

"YOU ARE SO USELESS!"

Mia grinned. "I guess I am…heh…" She glared back at the pair, frowning as she watched the orange haired one grab the pole in his shoulder and simply pull it out. With a splatter of blood, he tossed it aside, and held his hand over the wound. Seconds later, he removed his hand, revealing the wound to be sealed up and fully healed. "You threatened by savior, therefore you are my enemy!"

Yahiko ignored her, and instead, decided to focus on communicating with his other teammates.

"What do you want this time, Cry-baby?" Yahiko asked.

"_**You know you are not supposed to be hunting down and capturing jinchuriki now… it is too soon for that. You are acting outside of orders!" **_the voice replied, with Konan also fixating attention on the speaker. _**"Attacking this early will cost us the element of surprise…"**_

"We were searching for Orochimaru, Lord Pein…," Konan said. "We tracked him to this land, but have come up empty handed…"

Yahiko glanced towards his blue haired comrade. "Perhaps it's time we rethink our strategy…"

Konan glared back at him, a bit flustered. "You're thinking this now?"

"Who are they talking to?" Sakura choked, staggering back to her feet as Killer Bee returned to the group, clutching his stomach that was visibly badly bruised. Isaribi was visibly shaken, and being tended to by a very worried Naruto, with Omoi being checked on by Samui.

"This day is just getting weirder and weirder," Ino stated.

"_**We need to recruit more members before we are able to effectively seal the Tailed Beasts away and utilize them," **_the voice replied. _**"Both of you will return to Amegakure for reassignment…"**_

"Hm…" Yahiko smirked and shook his head. "Too soon…"

"Nevertheless, I agree with him," Konan replied, and turned towards Team 7 and Team Samui, looking passed the woman blocking their way. "We will be wasting time fighting it out with these shinobi; they are too stubborn… and they are persistent. I doubt they will give us anything useful anyway…"

"You're just saying that because you don't want me to die," the orange haired man pointedly said, raising an eyebrow at his teammate and smiling slightly. The blue haired woman blushed and looked away.

"Idiot… it's because I look out for you," she replied hastily.

Yahiko chuckled, before returning his gaze towards the stricken Genin Teams and their Jonin teachers. He looked them over for a few seconds, making a few quiet calculations, while also adding the red head that had unexpectedly returned to confront him into the equation. Eventually, he decided that enough was enough.

"Sorry to bother you," he apologized, tipping his head to his now former opponents. "I pray we will not inconvenience you like this again in the near future…"

This had everyone's jaws drop. Their gapes would have gone straight through the floor when Yahiko bowed politely to them before turning heel and heading off. Konan bowed as well, before rejoining her teammate.

"We apologize for wasting your time…"

The two of them vanished when their bodies dematerialized into water, leaving Team 7 and Team Samui shocked, confused and relieved.

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

_**

* * *

**_

_**Author's Note: **_Sorry it's taking me so long to update chapters. I've just been so stocked up with work and assignments at the moment, what with this being the last couple of weeks of my first year at university.

There were so many ways I wanted to write out this scenario, and just decided to go with a low level confrontation that really spoke for the two Akatsuki members making their debut in my story at this point: Yahiko and Konan, perhaps two of my favorite characters.

As much as I love the original Pein, because this is an AU, I've redesigned Pein and split the characters a bit, making it sort of an OC, sort of an AU, while still following the original story line. Of course, what made me question the original Anime was, if Madara and all the other Akatsuki members were so powerful, why didn't they make their appearances sooner? It's something I like to explore earlier in my story by introducing these characters.

By taking a look at the original manga and anime, I saw that Yahiko was quite strong himself, and would have excelled a lot in skill and strength if he continued living. The version of Yahiko in my story is an older, more mature and serious Yahiko, all results from past experiences in the Amegakure war. Konan too has gotten stronger herself, and the true leader of Akatsuki… well… you can guess who it is.

In terms of strength, I'd say Yahiko here would be stronger then Kisame and Itachi, but weaker then Nagato.

Oh, and it may also be apparent that I hate Madara Uchiha so much (SPOILERS: even more after he killed Konan in canon). I think he is just rubbish, grossly over powered character like Sasuke in canon. They have no class whatsoever. This may be why I'm introducing another new character, just to balance out the power.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	26. The Nine's Tales

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_The Nine's Tales_

_**The Village of Amegakure…**_

A storm was brewing… and it all seemed to start from here. Gales of wind and lightning rang out from the heart of the country's capital: the Village Hidden in the Rain, its existence divided from the rest of society by vast rivers, storms, and politics. A remarkably advanced village, compared to that of the Crescent Moon Kingdom and Konohagakure, Amegakure was a city that lived and breathed in the dark. On top of that, it rained non-stop, making visibility over a wide range almost impossible. But the people of this small country managed to adapt to its conditions in the most ingenious ways.

The lights of a downtown, booming district blared in the fog, the rain and the night, with crowds marching through the rain in thick coats, parkers and ponchos. The ninja scattered themselves on patrol and guard, with a majority of them patrolling the tallest tower in the heart of the village. At the top, there was a statue resembling the God of Death, its tongue extended and acting as a balcony to a room high above.

But at the center of this construct, dwelled a large, untouched chamber. This room was circular in structure, large and dark, with large tinted windows looking out over the village, and stone pillars holding up the floors above it. The only lights came from candles, a majority of them lighting up a stone throne in the middle of the room. A desk with a variety of scrolls, a map of the surrounding countries, and figurines of the nine tailed beasts, sat next to this seat of authority.

Sitting on the throne was a figure wearing a black cloak with red cloud patterns outlined in white. The figure had long, red hair that ran down to shoulder length, and a long face with tanned skin, his head propped up on his hand as he stared with a bored expression at a glass of sake held in his free hand. He looked quite healthy in spite of his exhausted face, and for any ninja with incredibly high sensitivity to energy, could feel a constant aura of incredibly strong, terrifying chakra emitting off of him.

A passive, high ranked figure sat in this seat.

As he sat there, listening to the storm passing overhead, he suddenly heard a whoosh of rushing water in front of him and looked up. At the other end of the room, there was a large stone fountain, with statues of weeping angels of it that has ceased running. From its basin, two jets of water sprung out and landed with a splash on the cold floor, before rising up and solidifying. Seconds later, the figures of Yahiko and Konan walked out, both of them striding across the room towards their waiting teammate.

"You're a sloth! Do you know that?" Yahiko asked loudly but in his monotone voice as he marched up to the red haired man. "Just because you're the boss, doesn't mean that you can lounge about all day doing nothing while the rest of us do all the dirty work, not to mention act all high and mighty towards us."

"No matter the class, color or creed, a leader still needs to convey an air of authority," the man replied, swirling his glass of sake. "You were acting irresponsibly…"

"I would have had them," Yahiko replied, coming to a stop before the throne, Konan accompanying him. "If not the information on Orochimaru's whereabouts, but the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki and the Eight-Tails' jinchuriki… they were right there. Why did you stop me?"

"We have yet the resources or the time to be dealing with the tailed beasts'," the leader stated. "We need more members to fuse with the Gedo Mazo statue in order to perform the sealing technique, particularly for the more powerful tailed beasts. If I was to sync with the statue on my own, it would drain my life force completely…and the members we already have that _**can**_ sync with the statue have been dispatched to deal with other, very important assignments. I cannot tear them away from their tasks…"

"But you can bother us?" Yahiko asked.

"I can count on you two the most…"

Konan looked between them, seeing that they were having an old-fashion stand-off between two best friends. Of course, it was funnier watching them when they were teenagers, and much funnier when they were young adults. Now that they were powerful shinobi in their thirties or so with stoic personalities, meant that it was hard to defer from an actual confrontation to a little spat.

The blue haired woman sighed and stepped forward.

"Nagato… you could stand to be more patient," she said. "We've already got enough work as it is, and you have already called us away from an assignment…twice…"

The red haired shinobi sighed and looked back down at the map on the desk right beside him. His Rinnegan blinked under the shadow of his hair as his thoughts strayed off and he began to relax a bit more.

"Our mission to bring peace to the world requires all of our attention, and will take up a lot of time and energy," Nagato replied, reaching out and running his fingers from Amegakure, and over the surrounding countries. "Using Amegakure as our base of operations, recruiting the most gifted and powerful shinobi from the surrounding nations, and by securing the tailed beasts, we will be able to gain a foothold in this world. We will bring peace with or without conflict, and by making people recognize our suffering and their blissful ignorance; the world will become more complete…"

Yahiko frowned, while Konan just listened intently to what her best friend was saying.

Nagato looked over at Yahiko, seeing him looking up at him with that disapproving glare. "I know you are the Kage of this village, and that you have brought peace, stability, and prosperity to this land, Yahiko. But it is our dream to bring peace to this world is it not? A peace we can all share…"

"But peace through war isn't what I had in mind, Nagato," Yahiko stated.

"I am not starting a war," Nagato replied immediately. "I am setting the building blocks to true peace…"

Yahiko huffed and turned away. He angrily pointed towards one of the windows, where the rain outside could clearly be seen.

"This country still cries, Nagato!" Yahiko growled, becoming incredibly irritated. "We must heal all our wounds and make peace with ourselves first, before we can start helping the rest of the world. You're clearly not seeing this!"

"My eyes are wide open, Yahiko," the red haired ninja replied, sighing. "I'm not that blind."

"Enough! Stop arguing," Konan shouted loudly, stepping in the middle of the fray, quite literally of course, placing herself between the two. "Nagato, I know you mean well, but please… consider the fact that you may be putting a lot of people in harms way, innocent people, to achieve your goal…" She glared at the ring-eyed boy, seeing him looking back at her in silent contemplation. "We've been through a lot our entire life… as orphans in a war torn country, death, destruction, pain… Hanzo… but don't let your past life consume you… both of you!" She glared back at Yahiko, seeing him staring back at her as well. "We are still here, which means we have time to work out a solution. But don't let your ideals cloud your judgments… I don't want you two fighting each other just to get your way…"

Silence fell among them, save for the pitter-patter of rain outside. After a considering what their closest of friends had to say to them, the feuding pair were snapped back into reality, and they let their confrontation slide. Yahiko looked away, arms folded, whereas Nagato went back to staring at his map.

"Three more years…" Nagato stated. "I will allow three more years… that is the time limit I had decided on long ago. Unless we can come up with another solution before then, I'm afraid I have my mind set…" He took a sip from his sake. Yahiko grunted and began walking away, Konan joining him.

"We're friends Nagato," Yahiko stated. "I passed down role as leader of Akatsuki to you for a reason… because I believe that you have the potential to change the world." He stopped just ten steps out, glancing behind him at his comrade. "We have to believe in the same thing first, before we can bring peace together…"

Without another word, he left with Konan following after, leaving Nagato to his thoughts.

* * *

_**Konohagakure…**_

Out of all the events to follow the success of the mission, the hardest part was, not bidding farewell to Team Samui and thanking them, not the long journey back to Konohagakure, and certainly not Mia's insisted questions along the way, or walking through the village during the afternoon rush hour… no… it was confronting the Third Hokage at the end with the mission report.

Team 7 once again found themselves under the questioning gaze of the Village's Noble Leader, while Mia sat in the corner with Isaribi, both of them playing a rather primitive game of rock-paper-scissors, 21 and paddy-cake to pass the time.

Two ANBU sat on either side of the room, Yamato and Yugao, keeping a close watch on the new pair in the corner, while the Third dealt with Team 7.

"Let's see…" Sarutobi sighed, looking from a grinning Naruto, to a smiling Sakura, a bored Anko, a cheerful Lee, and an equally happy Ino, and back to Naruto. "Where should I start…?"

"Would you prefer to read about it or hear about it first hand?" Anko asked, slipping her hands into her pockets. "Honestly, we've had a long day, so can we just hand it to you on paper? You're a busy man after all, Hokage-sama…"

Sarutobi sighed and tilted his head, distress clearly written on his expression. He huffed on his pipe.

"Recap," he began again. "Last night, Naruto Uzumaki, the only ninja to be known outside of this village for his trouble-making, decided to go on another private escapade to help out his teacher, and dragged not only one member of his team, but two others from separate teams, along with him on this mission. On top of that, you not only succeeded in completing your primary objectives, but you also bring back another Rinnegan bearer and a former experiment of Orochimaru's, after an encounter with two Akatsuki members…"

"Correct," Naruto replied.

There was a brief pause as the Hokage began drinking back in everything he has been told and has said.

A moment later…

"Why can't you be normal, like everybody else?" Sarutobi almost cried, collapsing onto his desk. The two ANBU just stared oddly at him, while Anko nearly burst out laughing at the old man's antics. Sakura and Ino giggled and gave each other a high-five, while Naruto just shook his head.

"We're a ninja village, old man… as far as I'm concerned, nobody around here is normal," Naruto stated. He put further emphasis into the statement by gesturing over to Isaribi and Mia in the corner, who was continuing their game of rock-paper-scissors in their corner.

"I have to give you points there," Sarutobi replied, sighing. He waved a hand at them. "I'm going to have to settle for the paper work. You five look like you've had a long day, so I'll let it slide for now…"

Anko grinned and, without needing to be told twice, turned on the spot and began skipping towards the door. Lee followed suit, with Sakura and Ino hanging back to wait for Naruto. The blond gave the old man a half-assed salute before he left.

"I'll forward my report in novel form, old man," Naruto exclaimed. "You'll definitely get a kick out of it!"

Sarutobi waved him off, and watched as Naruto left with Sakura and Ino under his wings, with Mia and Isaribi quickly following after him. The two ANBU made sure the door shut behind them, before coming to stand before their Hokage. The white haired ninja reached into his desk's side drawer and pulled out a bottle of sake and a cup. Quickly pouring himself a glass, he took a shot, with his subordinates watching on with a bit of concern. Of course, you couldn't really tell behind their masks.

"Hokage-sama…is it wise to be drinking at this time of the day?" Yugao asked.

"You still have a lot of paper work to go through," Yamato pointed out.

"Cut an old man some slack!" Sarutobi looked up at the pair and furrowed his brow at them. "I was supposed to be retired years ago… but noooo. Can't I find a suitable candidate who won't die a year after I assigned him to the position? Besides…I think I'd rather pick up on my students' bad habits of having fun, then wither away in this chair for the rest of my life…"

Yamato and Yugao looked at each other, before glancing back at the Hokage, making a few gestures to convey their confusion.

"You're jumping back and forth a bit sir," Yugao pointed. "We don't really understand what you're getting at?"

"Then don't…" The old shinobi reached over to his filing cabinet and pulled it open. From it, he pulled out two files concerning Naruto's new company, and making a rather comical gesture suggesting he was pulling them off of a roller. Yamato and his companion watched in surprise as their leader unfurled the two forms in front of him.

"Good thing I printed out copies of the forms specifically related to Naruto for just such an occasion…"

* * *

_**Naruto's Home…**_

"NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO!" Naruto repeatedly shouted over and over again as he ran down the dirt path up to his new home upon spotting the smoke rising out of one of the windows. He didn't think twice when he kicked down the door and ran round to the kitchen, which had smoke spewing out of the corners of the door.

The moment he entered huffing and sweating, Naruto was met with a rather incredulous sight. Granted he had walked in on some weird stuff in his life, this had to be ranked somewhere in the middle.

Ryoko was sitting with a bored expression on her face at the dining table in the center of the large eating area, with the open kitchen area clearly seen on the other side. Wearing jeans and a over-sized T-shirt, the swordswoman was playing Chinese checkers with Haru, Haku and, surprisingly enough, her sword _Aries,_ all of whom were in the chairs opposite her. The two youngsters weren't as engrossed in the game as she was though, because they were staring towards the kitchen area, particularly towards the oven.

While Hinata stood by one of the windows in the dining area, happily tending to a small trough of flowers hanging on the sill, Zabuza was standing in the actual kitchen area, wearing a pink apron over his new Konoha Jonin gear, and was smoldering from the head down. His burnt front and fried hair was all due to his roast bursting into flames several seconds ago when he checked to see how it was doing. The legendary swordsman was literally roasted completely on the front side of his body, which made the sight quite hilarious since his back half was completely fine. If he had eyebrows in the first place, they would have been gone.

Begrudgingly, the man straightened up and wiped his hand over his face, smearing off the grease and ash that had attached itself to him, not really caring about the huge mess he had made over the entire kitchen from trying to cook for the past few hours. The fridge behind the swordsman was painted with ash from when the oven exploded when he opened it, leaving a nice clean imprint of Zabuza's outline in the back wall. There was also an assortment of pots, pans and utensils piled up in greasy, soupy messes all over the place, including the floor. The tell-tale signs of other meats that the Jonin had attempted to cook lay scattered, not to mention splattered, all over the place.

Oddly enough, he still had his gauze mask intact from all his 'cooking'.

"Okay… what's the score?" the swordsman asked Ryoko exasperatedly, while Naruto looked over the state of his kitchen from the doorway in horror.

"Roast; 12. Meat-Sack; 0," Ryoko replied, moving one of the nubs on her board forward. "King me…"

"I keep telling you Ryoko-sama, _Chinese-Checkers_ doesn't work like that," Haku pointed out over the board.

"Shut-up and just play the game, Haku!" Ryoko shouted at him.

"_Bishop to C3!" _Ryoko's sword exclaimed, with its wielder making a random move for it across the board at its request.

Haku sighed and slapped his face. "The board is star shaped. How can you… (sigh)…"

"You know, you guys aren't helping me much," Zabuza said, glancing over at the table and placing his hands on his hips to show his annoyance. "I'm trying to cook a nice dinner for all of us and you're too busy playing games to even care!"

"Watching you fail is also a game," Ryoko stated. "We're in the final quarter, don't stop now. Besides… the last time you cooked for us, Raiga couldn't taste a thing for a month, I went blind for two weeks, and Kisame turned a permanent blue color. Why not…stop trying?"

"Uh-uh… I'm not even close to giving up!" Zabuza stated, waving a finger at her. "I'm way beyond giving up at this point." It was at this point he finally noticed Naruto standing at the doorway, with Sakura, Ino, Isaribi, Anko and Mia coming up behind him, the newbie's of the household awing at the sheer size of the mansion. The former Seven Ninja Swordsman blinked as he registered to the return of the household owner and waved. "Oh… hi Naruto!"

"Wh-Wh-Wh…" the blond attempted to reply.

"Back already?" Ryoko asked, while Hinata came around from tending to her flowers. "I thought you'd be home much later…"

"W-Welcome back…N-Naruto-kun…" the Hyuuga exclaimed brightly.

"Hi Hinata," Naruto replied with a smile, before doing a complete 180 in his mood and rounding back on Zabuza, absolutely distraught. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY KITCHEN?"

"I was just trying to make a nice home cooked meal for us," Zabuza replied, shrugging casually.

"WHAT BROUGHT THIS UP!"

"Well uhh…" The man twiddled his fingers together and looked down at the floor, as if he were ashamed of his actions. "I wanted to learn how to cook for myself for a long time… I'm a little bit tired of C-Grade rations and eating out…"

"Oh… so you decided to use my kitchen to practice, in spite of knowing absolutely nothing about the art of cooking or using the appliances… okay…" Naruto, in a quick fast forward of words, attempted to reason with himself, laboring his breathing a little as he spoke. But even that wasn't enough to keep his emotions in check. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU MIST NINJA? DON'T ANY OF YOU SWORDSMEN KNOW HOW TO COOK?"

"Actually…"

"And if you say it was Kisame who cooked for you and the others, Zabuza… I'm going to smack you…" Naruto warned, his face turning a little bit red with impatience.

Zabuza just kept his mouth shut…

Naruto sighed and went over to the dining table, pulled out one of the chairs, and collapsed into it. He let himself fall flat onto his face on the table in front of him, and just went to sleep. Sakura and Ino joined to comfort him, while Mia went off exploring the building rather aimlessly. Isaribi went and sat next to Ryoko, who eyed the purple haired girl curiously.

Isaribi, rather uncomfortable under the red haired woman's gaze, and the attention she was receiving from Zabuza, Haru and Haku, had her look between each of them briefly, before looking away.

"H-Hello…" she exclaimed.

"Yo!" Ryoko replied, nodding to her.

"Are you one of Naruto's friends?" Haku asked curiously.

"Y-Yes…yes I am…"

"Strange… never seen you around here before," Ryoko pointed with a raised eyebrow.

"That's okay, Ryoko… I just met her today," Naruto said from his position on the table, waving a hand and not even bothering to look up. He was pretty beat. "Secret mission… Rinnegan… long story…"

"Yeah… there was a lot of stuff…Akatsuki… weirdness…Killer Bee… things got messy and… yeah…" Anko also stated briefly in exhaustion, sitting herself down and ordering Zabuza to toss her a sake bottle from the very top cupboard. The tall swordsmen did so, and also threw her a glass, to which she immediately began drinking from. "Geez I'm pooped…"

"I'm sure we'll be hearing about this tale sometime in the foreseeable future," Ryoko said with a smile before going back to the Chinese checkers board. She made her next move, with Haru immediately jumping in with another to get her piece right into her star corner. The red head furrowed her brow and kicked herself in the foot for just handing that move to her opponent. "Hey! How the heck do you do that?"

"I can see it!" Haru declared happily, before clapping her hands together in victory. "YAY!"

While Ryoko racked her brain to beat her little opponent and Haku was making small talk with Isaribi, Naruto was being comforted by Sakura, Ino and Hinata. Zabuza cursed silently in the kitchen as he went on to fix up his workspace, and in the midst of the silent household, a loud 'whoop' could be heard from outside, followed by a loud splash. All heads turned, with Naruto's head also perking up.

"What was that?" Sakura asked.

Ino, Hinata and Zabuza frantically looked about, hopping they weren't hearing things, whereas Anko and Naruto were pretty sure of the answer to the problem themselves.

"Where's Mia?" Naruto asked.

"_WOW! Now that's a three story fall! AWESOME HOTSPRINGS!" _A female vice echoed into the room from outside, presumably from where the hot springs were.

"_YOSH! WHAT YOUTH! LET ME JOIN YOU!"_

"Oh yeah…" Ino said, looking down at a still shocked Naruto. "Lee's still with us…"

"Oh-no…" In the blink of an eye, Naruto was up and out of his seat and sprinting for the hot springs outside, knowing full well that his new guest to his home, Mia, had just invented a new sport of jumping from his roof into the shallow hot springs in the middle of the compound. Though he was sure the 'Sage of Six Paths' was invincible, he was more worried about the state of his hot baths.

Knowing Lee and Mia up to this point, any structure or property wasn't even close to safe when they were around.

It was not until late afternoon, when the sun was beginning to set, did Naruto manage to catch Mia and Lee and drag them back inside, both of them continuing to act childish in respect to their personalities. Once he had deposited them in the lounge room and told them to stay put, he went on to attend other important business.

Ino and Sakura sat together with Anko for some green tea, and talked about the mission that they had just taken part in, while Hinata, Ryoko and Haku listened in. Isaribi went to help out the clumsy oaf who was working in the kitchen, assuming that he was in fact the butler of Naruto's home. Of course, Zabuza scolded her for thinking he was a butler, and introduced himself a shinobi. But from his attire and the state he was in… he looked nothing like a ninja from Isaribi's point of view. Little Haru just stood by and watched quietly as Zabuza made an ass of himself in front of the new guest.

"I'm beginning to think that Naruto knows a hell of a lot more then what he is letting us on to. I'm not talking about some top secret files passed between him and Hokage-sama… but really personal matters… things that have happened in his life concerning other Hidden Villages in other countries and criminal organizations… you know," Ino said, looking between Sakura, Hinata and Anko. "I mean… Team 7… you guys are _his_ team… the closest thing he has to a family. You should know everything that goes on within the group, what's going on with each member…"

"We all have lives outside of the team, Ino," Sakura pointed out. "We're not as black and white as your teammates…"

"Not to mention our team dynamics are far more complicated," Anko stated, taking a sip from her tea. "We're ninja… we all keep secrets, whether they are good or bad. But whatever it is ninja decide to clam up about, you can be sure severe consequences will follow if that information gets out. Well… so I've learned from experience…"

"My team isn't that easy to pick apart…"

"Asuma is training you guys well, for certain…" Anko continued. "You function well as a shinobi team, you all possess unique skills, you are strong individually, and you all strictly abide by the rules and laws that govern the shinobi world. However, unlike my team, yours is still too closed-minded…"

"What do you mean by that, sensei?" Ino asked.

"Naruto has a mind of his own, and is free to make his own decisions regarding a mission's details… though I admit he is not bound by as many limitations as we are. But this is what makes him as good as he is, both cold and blunt, but able to choose the path on which he walks," Anko stated, before gesturing over to the Hyuuga sitting across from her. "Hinata follows her heart as much as she follows orders. She has a strong spirit, almost mirroring Naruto's in a way, which is what makes them so compatible. But she chooses to look at situations from a distance, and best assesses them to reach the appropriate outcome… which puts her in a class above Naruto's in terms of combat strategy. He's a type of ninja who follows his gut, while Hinata follows her instincts." She then looked over at Sakura. "If I am not mistaken, pinky here chooses to look at the world in a more complicated way. Naruto breaks rules, Hinata sees the wall between maintaining them and breaking them, but Sakura… she… you…" She emphasizes her point by pointing at her quiet student, "goes around them. Without hurting anyone else in the process, she follows orders _**and**_ chooses to do what is right by her. In a way… all three of my students follow their own code. Whether it is by choice or not… we are still moving forward, while looking back on a past that helps us make the next step…"

Ino raised an eyebrow, and then looked over at Sakura, who just smiled and shrugged back at her.

"Sensei watches us in our sleep. It's kind of creepy…" Sakura simply said, before going back to her drink, taking her mind off of the conversation for a moment.

"That's not what I was going to ask," Ino said, before looking back at Anko. "Look… I understand you _**all**_ have problems… whether past or present. But that doesn't mean you can't share them. I was always told that by learning about your teammates' history, you can better understand them and work effectively on the field knowing your comrades' strengths and weaknesses." Anko shrugged at her comment, and looked down at her tea.

"That's how Asuma chooses to train you. He wants to turn you into an effective shinobi team, one that can match your father's team… the old Ino-Shika-Cho trio… maybe even surpass them one day," the Jonin pointed. "But I choose to train my students differently. I teach them to function as an effective troop, but encourage their independence, which allows them to be compatible with other shinobi in case of team reassignments. You've learned first hand how different a scrambled up team can be… even joint teams, given the occasion…"

"I suppose you're right their, sensei," Ino said, taking a sip from her drink. Anko chuckled and patted her on the back.

"You have a long way to go, kiddo…"

* * *

_**Meanwhile…**_

Naruto wasn't ready to join his teammates for tea just yet. Instead, the young ninja sought refuge in his sanctum; the room he had set up just for himself the moment he moved in here.

In the basement area, mostly separated from the rest of the main building, the blond shinobi accessed a secret room via the storage area. It was apparent nobody came down here that often because of all of the dust. The main purpose of his basement was to store material goods and supplies for long periods of time. However, the young owner had a different reason for being here.

Opening a steel door behind a wooden panel in the back, Naruto walked on through a pipelined hallway gushing steam, indicating that he was close to the water heating and pump system. When he entered, he made sure to lock the doors behind him before proceeding onward.

Switching on the lights at the generator, the room lit up, revealing a hidden dojo, complete with a meditation platform, wardrobe, and walls lined with rows upon rows of weapons. Kunai, shuriken, swords, ANBU armor, masks, gauntlets, wrist and knee guards, speared weapons, lances and all sorts of melee weapons lined the room, enough to satisfy an entire garrison of soldiers. It was his personal armory and weapon manufacturing room, as indicated by the other tools and equipment in the background, decorated by hundreds of maps, blue prints, scrolls and mission specs.

Depositing his coat and hat on a nearby table, as well as his bandoleer of specialized equipment, the boy then went on to change his garb.

He stripped out of his black pants, sandals and mesh, throwing them in a basket, before moving to the closet beside his museum of blades. Quickly plowing through a set of coats and jackets hanging inside the large oak wardrobe, he settled on a particular, custom made samurai robe.

It was a thin, long, trench coat that was designed to be reversible, white on the outside, and black on the inside, and could be changed for day or night wear. It had no symbols, just a matching gauze belt. Satisfied, he ripped it from the hangar and flung it over his shoulder, before picking up a new bandoleer of weapons from his wall.

Moving to the center of the room where the meditation circle was, Naruto deposited his stuff to the side and sat down in the middle. Forming a hand seal, he placed right hand directly over the seal on his stomach and his left hand over the center of his chest. Controlling his breathing to slow inhales and exhales, the blond then dove into the depths of his mind, just how he was trained a couple years back by one of his master's to control his Tailed Beast. It was in this state he expected to meet up with his other… 'Resident'.

Inside his mind, he was met with a black void, lit up by a pure white floor that went on for miles. The only other signs of construct that could be seen were hundreds of wooden totems (similar to Yamato's) scattered around for miles, with flames lit on top of each one like a candle, and huge gateways, acting as the basis for his enhanced eight-trigrams seal.

Walking across the white floor, with each step causing a single ripple to appear, the blond maneuvered though the totems, looking to check on the Nine Tails sealed inside of him. It was not until he did come across the prisoner in his stomach, the red eyes glowing through the darkness as he approached.

Another ripple from ahead of him met the one he caused with his last step, and the boy watched and waited as the demon walked out from the darkness. The first to appear out of the shadows ahead were the fox's feet, which gracefully padded forward, one after the other. It was soon followed by his head, then its ears, its neck, the body, and finally its tails.

Naruto was not at all surprised when he saw that the Fox was about the size of a horse, and not the behemoth it used to be. It didn't even surprise him that it wasn't even in a cage, but wandering free across the expanse of his mind.

The Kyuubi approached him, its tails whipping behind it casually. It stopped about a couple of meters in front of him before it started circling him. Naruto eyed it with curiosity.

"You're looking well, furball," Naruto exclaimed.

"_**Same to you, brat,"**_ the male fox replied, with any form of emotion absent from his face.

"I trust you know what's going on, on the outside, right," the blond asked, keeping the fox in plain view.

"_**As slow and as excruciatingly boring as the situations are developing, yes…" **_the Kyuubi replied, marching a full circle around his keeper before coming to a stop right in front of the blond, _**"You have encountered the **_**Creator**_**, and have made some powerful allies in the process. Though I despise your abilities so, I must admit, I may have been a little bit ungenerous with my words from years ago, saying that you wouldn't be able to handle the outside world. But looking at you now… I can see you are no longer a cry baby…"**_

"I love it when you insult me like this. It puts a spotlight on the irony that we have to keep each other alive, regardless of how much we hate each other," Naruto said, smirking at the fox briefly, before relieving the expressions on his face. "As fun as it is…now… I'm afraid I need your counsel…"

"_**First the Toad and Slug Sannins, then the Snake woman, your princess friend, and now me huh…" **_the fox almost chuckled, taking a seat on the cold floor in front of the boy, who also took a seat. _**"It isn't wise to accept guidance from a demon… but since a lot of your personality has rubbed off on me… I suppose I could share some wisdom with you."**_

Naruto sighed and looked at his hands, pressing his fingertips together nervously. "Up until my graduation, my life has been a living hell… but after making it to Genin… I've… suddenly been experiencing a life that I never thought I would have in years. I've made friends, I've made allies, and I've made huge discoveries generations of shinobi have been dreaming of discovering. That's all good but… now I have this egging feeling in the back of my mind that… things are about to get a whole lot worse…"

"_**Funny… you haven't been having any bad dreams or anything like that for you to come to such a conclusion…"**_

"However, there have been signs that something big is about to happen and… I'm scared… frightened of the fact that my friends' lives could be in jeopardy…"

"_**Time is a strange thing… we can't change the past, but we **__can__** reshape the future the way we want it, but still be unable to see it. Still, the fact remains that existence is biased…" **_the Kyuubi muttered. _**"I mean… look at me…stuck inside of some brat who hasn't got his life figured out…"**_

Naruto blinked, watching as the Nine Tails glared at him.

"_**You have no idea what you are going to do in the future… because you can't choose between your friends or your personal vendettas…" **_Kyuubi stated. _**"You are like the Uchiha… arrogant… greedy… blinded by desire and by hatred…"**_

"Don't put me on the same level as _them_…" Naruto hissed back. "I just have a score to settle with the _Akatsuki_… to stop them from killing my friends, destroying my village… and capturing you! I'll risk my life to ensure the safety of my friends… and until they're gone… I can rest in peace."

"_**Greed is the same in any form of want or need…" **_Kyuubi stated. _**"You desire your friends' safety, to protect them… **__that__** is greed. Heh… maybe you're not like the Uchiha after all… maybe you **__are__** better then them…"**_

"I got rid of all of my hatred years ago," Naruto said, a matter-of-factly. "I cast it aside so that I wasn't blinded by it, so that I could see clearly. It will help me accomplish my goals…"

"_**If you say so…" **_Kyuubi said, smirking. _**"But now, setting aside your own problems, you have things happening that may be troublesome in your future. You know of Itachi, Kisame, Orochimaru… and those two other Akatsuki members you met at Uzushiogakure. What do you think is happening?"**_

"I think… the Akatsuki are experiencing troubles as well," Naruto stated. "They aren't hunting Jinchuriki just yet… because they say they are hunting Orochimaru. Of course, if they can get rid of him before they come after us, it should make things easier… but there is something else going on… something in the shadows. Since you've been watching events unfold through my eyes, you should know what I'm talking about…"

"_**Your fight with the missing ninja Kajika… so I've seen. He was possessed by a demon at the climax of your battle; a demon possessing abnormal Sharingan…"**_

"Do you know who those eyes belonged to? They clearly did not belong to Kajika, and they certainly aren't a part of the strain of Sharingan of the Uchiha clan." Naruto asked.

"_**I remember that in the days following the Sage of Six Paths' passing, that the eldest student of the Great Ninja possessed those very same eyes," **_the Kyuubi replied. _**"They were eyes that bled darkness, and were the first of its kind to see through time and space, which he used to shape the world the way he wanted, but not change it completely, because he did not possess all of his master's abilities. Eventually, on the day of the eldest student's death, he took the eyes with him to his grave, so that nobody would ever surpass him in power. Somehow… those eyes have returned, in some incarnation of the older brother…"**_

"Eyes that see through time?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. "That's… impossible…"

"_**The Eldest Brother proclaimed himself as a God over his people; because his abilities allowed him to see ahead of time and distort the world to avoid defeat, and even death. He lived for over two-hundred years as a result. Eventually, nearing his end, he passed on his teachings to others to spread his influence of war and preserve his primitive immortality; a decision that would eventually have his ninja techniques branch out, and evolve over time into the jutsu owned by every country across the Shinobi World." **_The Kyuubi said, grinning. _**"I was there when he broke down peace and scorched the soil with every step he took after that. The Self Proclaimed God led his people into war against his youngest brother, who… in spite of the danger, refused to fight back. The Younger Brother quickly fell in battle against his Older Brother, who struck his defenseless sibling down."**_

Naruto frowned as he listened to the Nine Tails' story, the Fox shaking its head as it remembered is days of war and bloodshed.

"_**The young brother stated that he would not fight, because he knew that the only way to stop hatred was for one person to say… enough. As a result of his decision not to pursue revenge or inflict pain on his brother, he died on the battlefield. The people who the elder brother rallied against his younger sibling left his side in disgust of what he had done, splitting up, and forming the countries we know today. People say the older brother went mad from killing his younger sibling, and died alone. Others say he redeemed himself by destroying the eyes he possessed. Ether way… the story ends there. Nobody can know for sure what really happened…"**_

"Except you… the all-knowing Kyuubi?" Naruto egged him to finish. "What do you know of the tale… personally?"

"_**The most legitimate theory is that the older brother saw the future for what it was, and wanting to preserve the world and not destroy what his youngest brother fought so hard to create, he destroyed his eyes to end the darkness and achieve true peace. But that wasn't enough to stop the hatred between nations, and the siblings' work remains incomplete…"**_

"What are you suggesting from this story? That the older brother has returned to complete what his younger brother started?"

"_**That's a possibility… but he is taking his sweet time accomplishing his goal…"**_

"Maybe I should ask Mia about this… perhaps I can get a clearer answer from her regarding her students…"

"_**Don't get your hopes up… The Sage of Six Paths may seem childish, but she is extremely intelligent. She is the sum of all ninja techniques of today, and the most powerful shinobi in all of history," **_the Fox replied, resting his head down and looking at Naruto through half-lidded eyes. _**"I'm still convinced she set my tails on fire using Amaterasu all those years ago…"**_

Naruto raised an eyebrow at him as he cursed the Sage and mumbled insults about her, before turning back to his keeper with a scowl.

"_**What?"**_

"You were actually pushed around by her? The Great Kyuubi was beat by a kid?"

"_**Shut up! You have idea what it was like putting up with her! She treated all nine of us like common house pets! She didn't even give us the respect of 'Summons'! Do you know what she first called me? Betsy!"**_

Naruto couldn't contain anything at this point and burst out laughing. The Kyuubi scolded him and looked away, flushing in embarrassment and sweat dropping.

"_**I hate you…" **_he muttered.

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	27. Love You Two Much

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Love You Two Much_

_**Ichiraku's Ramen Stand…**_

Was actually having the most customers it has ever seen, since the day old man Teuchi created ramen that boosted a person's vitality…

…he just hasn't come up with a name for it yet, so he called it _Chicken Soup_. Anyway, his stall was practically full to the brim tonight, with the counter's chairs all taken up, a situation which prompted the owner to take out the extra tables and chairs to serve the other customers.

The main reason for his store being so packed this late in the afternoon was that after Zabuza destroyed Naruto's kitchen for the fifteenth time, the blond lost all hope in his friend's abilities to cook them a meal that would've killed them after taking the first bite. So, he took everybody out for ramen instead, and much to a lot of the group's chagrin, Mia wouldn't shut up about ramen until it was sitting in front of her and halfway down her esophagus.

But that wouldn't be the only thing the group was a bit worked up over tonight.

"No! I disagree! Christmas is on the 25th of January, not December!" Ryoko argued with a rather flustered Anko, who was incredibly close to snapping the pair of chopsticks in her hand in frustration.

"YES IT IS! EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT CHRISTMAS IS IN DECEMBER! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Anko shouted.

The two of them were arguing across each other at their table outside, with Haku sitting in between them and feeling a little bit belittled by their talking over him. He sighed and shook his head as both Anko and Ryoko bared their fangs at one other, their fight growing more and more heated as the seconds past. Soon, the two women were out of their seats, standing toe to toe, while the raven haired teen continued eating his Miso Ramen under their shadows.

"OH! That's it! YOU WANNA GO!" Ryoko shouted in blind anger or in a pathetic display to intimidate the other woman.

The fight was more amusing then it was serious because bystanders were just plain ignoring the confrontation, since the villagers of Konohagakure were quite used to shinobi outbursts from the well known Anko and her companions at this point.

"YEAH I WANNA GO! BRING IT GIRLIE!"

"OH YEAH! COME ON!"

"YOU AND ME! RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW!"

"I'VE GOT OVER TWENTY YEARS EXPERIENCE! GIVE ME YOUR BEST SHOT!"

"I DON'T HAVE TO! YOU'D PROBABLY BREAK JUST STANDING THERE!"

"SHUT IT SNAKE PIT! I'LL SHOW YOU HOW I ROCK!"

It was all just a pathetic sham.

Zabuza shook his head at the commotion as he sat at his chair silently, reading a book while stirring his Tonkotsu ramen quietly. Haru was also at the table with him, sitting next to Lee, both of them shoveling down their soups as if there was no tomorrow. At least they were quiet for now thanks to the food in front of them, which was much to the swordsman's liking. With his large blade sitting beside him, he was able to sit back and relax knowing that he was both safe and in good company.

Meanwhile, Naruto, Sakura, Hinata, Ino and Isaribi were sitting in a row along Ichiraku's serving counter, all of them enjoying a nice hot Miso Ramen, and sharing a pleasant conversation with Teuchi and Ayame. Mia of course, sat on a table next to them, with good reason.

A pile of empty bowls reaching the ceiling sat right next to the red head, dressed in her newly bought kimono with blue rose patterns on it. If it wasn't for the fact that she was receiving incredulous and interested stares from people outside of the store, as rumors have spread around the village of a weird 'cat lady' that was a direct descendent of the Legendary Sage of Six Paths, then it was for a fact that people were shocked at the amount the woman was eating and were gathering to make bets to see how much more she could eat. The red haired woman let out a rather delighted exclamation as she licked the inside of her fiftieth bowl, before waving over to the manager.

"Old man! One more please!" she called out. "And some sake to!"

"Right away, ma'am!" Ayame responded to the call, filling in for her boss. She quickly got to work on a dozen or more servings, knowing that their new record breaking customer would definitely want more after just the one.

Teuchi laughed, grinning down at Naruto in amusement.

"Your new friends really have an appetite. I think _**that**_ _one_ over there is out to beat your personal best, Naruto," the owner of the stand stated. The blond Genin smiled back, slurping up the noodles hanging from his mouth, earning a giggle from Hinata sitting on his left and a smile of amusement from Sakura on his right.

"Oh… she's beat my record ten bowls ago," the blond replied, waving a hand casually, before glancing back over at Mia, now starting on her next serving. A sweat drop formed on Naruto's head as he watched her gorge herself. "I can't wait to see the bill…"

"Don't worry about that… I'll put it on your tab if you like," Teuchi simply said, going to wash some dishes next to him while making small talk. "After all, you're my best customer next to Choji. There has not been a day when I haven't seen you in here eating ramen…"

Naruto grinned back, before going back to eating. Sakura ate along with him, while Hinata simply watched on with a light coloring of red on her cheeks and a smile. Isaribi had a similar expression on her face as she watched Naruto in admiration, with Ino tilting her head in curiosity as she became completely engrossed in the spiky haired shinobi. Teuchi and Ayame easily spotted the four girls' attention directed towards the blonde, but kept their grins and chuckles to themselves, so not to embarrass him…

Yet…

"You know… I always found that training is a really great way to relieve stress after a big meal!" Sakura exclaimed, poking Naruto in the arm with the other end of her chopsticks. "Perhaps we can get some light sparring in before we head on home, what do you say, Naruto-kun?"

"That sounds really nice," Naruto replied with a look mimicking Sakura's, stretching his arms out and patting his nearly sated stomach. "But first… **one** more on me!"

"Alright," Sakura replied with a grin, giving him the thumbs up. At that very moment, Ayame slid two more bowls in front of them, and in perfect unison, both Naruto and Sakura started eating once again.

"T-Training would be really nice," Hinata timidly spoke up, raising a hand and catching Naruto's attention. "I… hear that there is going to be a nice moon out tonight…"

"Yeah?" Naruto queried, smiling at his teammate. "Really? That'd be a sight to see. We can find a nice open area and spar! That way we can get a fill of both."

"That'd work!" Sakura said. She happily nudged her teammate on the shoulders. "I want to see if I can beat you in hand-to-hand yet, and have the spirit of the moon watch as I clobber you into the ground…"

"I'll take you up on that challenge," Naruto stated, smirking back at her. "Let's see how long you last."

"I will down you in ten seconds," the kunoichi declared with a raised fist, her knuckles cracking as she tightened it.

"I can beat you, S-Sakura…" Hinata said, leaning over and giving her friend a rather confident grin, which gave her pink haired companion quite a surprise. "You, and me, and Naruto…!"

Sakura leaned over to her and grinned. "You're on!" And with that, the two bumped fists. Naruto had to lean back a bit to avoid being sandwiched by their knuckles.

Ino shook her head with a smile and took a sip from her tea on the side. Isaribi became quite intrigued by how the three original members of Team 7 interacted with one another, and studied them, while mostly paying attention to Naruto.

"_I have to come up with a way for Naruto to acknowledge me more…" _Isaribi thought to herself, rubbing her chin in thought. _"If only I can get him on his own…"_

"_If I can get him on his own, he's mine!"_ Inner Ino exclaimed, slamming her fists together. _"Sakura and Hinata won't be able to enchant him forever! One of these days, I will corner him!"_

Ino and Isaribi silently began plotting ways of how they were going to severe Naruto from his teammates, while the blond and his companions joked and laughed over past mishaps, unaware of the schemers.

They all had a pretty good time at the small stand, interacting with one another and taking time to get to know the strangers of their jumbled up group. On the sidelines, while Anko and Ryoko were too busy glaring at each other, Zabuza was now becoming a little bit overwhelmed by the combined energy and mouthfuls of Lee and Haru at his table. Exasperation quickly overcame him as the energy of the bushy brow and the younger sister of Naruto bubbled up in the chains of shouting and cheering.

Zabuza slapped himself in the face, groaning at his misfortune at being with the 'too young' crowd.

"_Ugh… I shouldn't have asked them what their favorite colors were…"_ he begrudgingly thought.

"GREEN IS FOR GO! GREEN IS LIVELY! It looks you dead in the eye, and says… YOSH! LET'S MOVE!"

"I like purple! Purple is funny! It's all blue and red at the same time! It makes me happy!"

"GREEN IS HAPPINESS! The symbol of youth! GREEN IS THE SYMBOL OF THIS VILLAGE!"

"Purple is not too dark and not too bright! Boys and girls can wear it! I like purple!"

"GREEN!"

"PURPLE!"

It was pretty obvious who was shouting what color, and Zabuza was trying to withstand it all. Coming up with a clever solution, he put down his magazine and, taking his index fingers, shoved them into his ears.

"_That's it. I've had it. I need to think of something else… let's see. Ah yes… music!" _A second after he thought that, a relieved look spread across his face as the sound of Beethoven's Ninth flooded into his head. _"Oh…Ludwig, you magnificent son of a bitch…"_

Back inside the bar, finishing their bowls, Naruto, Sakura and Hinata got up and headed out, bidding goodnight to Teuchi and Ayame. Saying goodnight to their friends and promising to see them in the morning, the young members of Team 7 headed for one of the training grounds available for them.

Meanwhile, Mia, after seeing Naruto depart with his friends, finished up her last bowl in haste. Paying what she owed and thanking a very flustered Ayame who was staring at the huge pile of dishes on the woman's table, the red haired woman saluted, and suddenly vanished when her entire body got sucked into a small wormhole. The brown haired girl blinked in surprise, not exactly expecting an exit like that.

* * *

_**Training Ground 4…**_

It was really late, and Naruto was taking that fact into complete stride.

His teammates insisted that he fight with them in hand to hand, and soon enough, all three of them were facing each other off on the wide expanse of grass, not too far from the three logs that were commonly seen on each training field.

By coincidence, all three of them were wearing most of their usual ninja gear. Naruto, though missing his hat, wore his newly acquired black and white robe, with black being on the outside this time, along with a pair of black cargo pants, black sandals, and a bandoleer of kunai strapped over his fishnet top underneath his coat. The blonde's headband was proudly adorned on his forehead, whereas Hinata continued to wear hers around her neck. She wore a light blue, zipped up jumper this time, with purple slacks and blue sandals, with her ninja pouch secured behind her, and kunai holster tightly strapped to her leg. As for Sakura, a red traditional Mandarin top with white linings was proudly adorned on her upper body, and a red, short cut dress of a similar design hanging below, with black spandex shorts underneath, matching sandals, and two kunai pouches on her belt behind her, made up her attire.

They were clearly all dressed and ready for battle.

Naruto smiled as he looked between his two teammates, before bringing up his hand and waving at them, gesturing them to come at him.

"Let's see what you got!"

Sakura started off, quickly drawing what appeared to be one kunai, but when she threw it, it broke apart into a cluster of kunai, which flew straight for Naruto. The blonde ducked under it and, with a quick draw, threw a barrage of shuriken in both Sakura and Hinata's direction. The pink haired kunoichi and the Hyuuga were ready, bringing out kunai and blocking the barrage, while avoiding some of the more precariously thrown ones.

In the blink of an eye, bursts of smoke exploded around Naruto, and just as Sakura and Hinata moved onto the defensive, about five clones charged at them, armed and in full sprint mode. The girls met the clones head to head, blocking the first onslaught of attacks and leaping over the next. Using one clone as a kick off point, Sakura and Hinata jumped off of the clone's faces and flew through the air right over the Naruto clones to the airspace above the original, where they both met and clashed blades. The real Naruto looked up and watched as their blades met.

Sparks flew when their attacks collided, which knocked them away from each other, and caused the two girls to land on either side of Naruto crouched right in the middle of them. They lunged at him, striking at their spiky haired teammate, who barrel rolled away from the first attacks, before evading their next onslaught. Sakura and Hinata attacked him in unison, but found that, despite their swiftest efforts, he was a little too slick for them as he dodged every one of their strikes.

Spinning and maneuvering around the two of Genin, he made use of their own confrontations with each other to his advantage to get as far away from their blades as possible. However, after jumping over and around several more attacks, he was eventually caught between the girls when they both slashed out at him at the same time from his left and right, which he responded to by firmly catching their incoming wrists.

Holding his ground, he bit tooth and nail holding his comrades down as they attempted to press on their attacks. However, they weren't even close to touching him with their blades, and eventually, they pulled away, leaping back to gain distance. At Naruto's will, he released them, knowing he wouldn't be able to do much without his hands.

Sakura flipped through the air when se broke off from Naruto, at the same time drawing five shuriken from her pouches and throwing them at her target. Naruto, spinning on the spot, threw his coat out at the shuriken and caught them within the cloth of his robe. Upon catching them, he brought the cluster around and threw them at Hinata on mass, effectively redirecting Sakura's long-distance attack. The Hyuuga saw the attack coming, and winking her right eye, she activated one of her Byakugan.

Counting quickly and making quick calculations, Hinata, reached back to her pouch and grabbed three kunai between her fingers. While still in mid-flight, she threw them straight at the incoming ninja stars, the flying blades grazing the tops of all of them and knocking their trajectory straight down, while the kunai continued on towards Naruto.

The blond Genin leapt forward and barrel rolled, avoiding the three kunai, before charging at Hinata. Sakura quickly became a bit preoccupied with the Naruto clones on her end when she landed, elbowing one in the face and stopping herself in flight, before clashing with them toe to toe. Several of them tried to jump her from behind, but a swift roundhouse kick through the air knocked three of them out cold and out of the fight, leaving two left dodging and ducking round the pink haired kunoichi's blows.

Naruto lunged at Hinata with a jab, followed by a hook, the Hyuuga moving back quickly and ducking the strikes, before countering. She jabbed out in response, with Naruto blocking her attack, then the next, bringing his knee up to block her right side kick. The two of them began making random circles on the spot as they attacked and countered against the other using taijutsu styles they knew well. The exchange of blows was quite ferocious, with Hinata putting all her speed behind her palm strikes, and Naruto smiling in pride as to his teammate's increase in strength and skill.

Back flipping away in an effective dodge from one of his teammate's kicks, the blonde landed several feet from Hinata and straightened himself up, not even bothering to take a stance as his teammate charged at him.

"_She's gotten faster…"_ In a flash, Hinata reengaged him, and Naruto backed away step by step, quickly ducking, avoiding and dodging the flurry of attacks heading in his direction. His purple haired teammate was putting all her effort into her attacks, pressing on with hooks, jabs, punches and occasional kicks, aiming for her teammate's head and chest. But Naruto was able to stay ahead of her, and continued to back away from her strikes.

Grabbing two clones by the head and slamming them together as she hurdled over them, Sakura began thinning out the rest of the Shadow Clones coming after her. Flipping over, she split kicked the heads of two more charging at her, knocking them both to the ground and out. The four clones disappeared into puffs of smoke, leaving only two left to deal with. They ran around her, and came at her blind spots, just as the pink haired kunoichi touched the ground. Crouching, Sakura clenched her right hand and drawing it back behind her, slammed it into the ground, causing a shockwave to ripple out from the center of her chakra-powered hit, and knocking the two Naruto clones off balance.

Taking this opportunity, Sakura lunged at the clone at her right, sending a left hook right across his face. After knocking the copy senseless, she then grabbed his arm and, with judo like action, sent him over her shoulder and straight for the other clone, the collision knocking them both out of the fight.

Once that was over and done with, Sakura locked onto her next target; Naruto and Hinata in their hand-to-hand fight behind her. Smirking, she spun around and charged at the two of them, drawing a kunai from her leg holster, with the intention in mind to knock both of them out. The black blade flashed through the air on its draw, a paper ball seen tied on the end as it spun between her fingers. In one swift movement, she threw it, while continuing her run across the grass towards them.

Naruto caught Hinata's fist in his hand and held her there, smiling at the girl as she fought through gritted teeth to get him to let go. However, before either of them could make another move, they heard the whistle of a kunai flying through the air, distracting them. On instinct, Naruto drew a kurai from his pouch and threw it behind him in quick action, the sleek silver blade knocking the kunai out the air and to the ground.

Unintentionally, the ball tied to the end of the kunai detonated, the blast of hot smoke enveloping Naruto and Hinata.

Taking the chance, the Hyuuga kneed Naruto in the stomach while they were under the smoke screen, winding him and jumping away, putting distance between herself and her opponents. As the blonde staggered, Sakura burst into the cloud of smoke and went straight at where Naruto was, upper-cutting him in the jaw, followed by a right punch, a left hook, and a right hook. The powerful blows knocked Naruto left and right, before a chakra-enflamed jab across the face sent him flying out of the smoke cloud. His flight was a clumsy combination of spins through the air and skips across the ground. The boy bounced across the flat grass before crashing into one of the three logs standing proudly on the sidelines a couple seconds later.

Naruto slumped awkwardly against the log fifty meters away from the smoke cloud. The moment he did, Sakura burst out of the dissipating wall and charged at him again in an attempt to finish her attack, but was intercepted by Hinata, the purple haired Hyuuga sending a hook, palm strike at her. The pink haired kunoichi ducked under it and rolled, crouching to a stop and rounding back on her new opponent. Taking a stance, Sakura leapt back to her feet and attacked Hinata, who countered quickly and fluently against the kunoichi's more firmly build, solid attacks.

Fists met palm strikes as Sakura and Hinata clashed, with Sakura at first gaining the upper hand with her superior strength. Avoiding a number of power strikes from her opponent, backing away step by step, Hinata kept her cool. Using the defensive capabilities of her fighting style, she blocked Sakura's attacks, wearing her down little by little as Sakura let loose.

Blocking an incoming palm strike to the face, Sakura wrapped her arms around her opponent's arm in a lock and swiftly tossed Hinata over her shoulder, throwing her to the ground. The Hyuuga winced when she hit the ground with a loud thud, unable to respond fast enough when suddenly, Sakura quickly caught her in a full on arm lock, one capable of ripping the arm out of its socket if the victim did anything irrational. The pink haired kunoichi held fast, and grinned as her legs were wrapped around the base of the arm at Hinata's shoulder, and her arms were wrapped tightly around her forearm.

"Try… and get out… of this one!" Sakura exclaimed, tightening her grip.

Hinata growled as she attempted to pull her arm free from her opponent's vice like grip, but only got a sharp flash of pain. So, moving for a more brutish tactic outside of the comfort zone of her graceful style, the Hyuuga began searching the ground around her with her free hand for something to grab onto. Eventually grabbing a large rock, Hinata took careful aim through her Byakugan and in a blink of an eye, swung her whole body over and slammed the rock into Sakura's face, knocking the girl's senseless.

Staggered, Sakura let go, enough for Hinata to get free. Quickly, the purple haired girl kicked off the ground and, performing an elegant spin through the air, landed perfectly several feet safely away from her opponent. Her pink haired counterpart leapt to her feet in kind, and staggered, gripping her bruised face.

"Ow… that wasn't nice…" Sakura groaned, glaring at her teammate.

Hinata took a stance, right palm glowing with blue chakra held forward, while the other one was held back. She grinned at her friend and teammate.

"All is fair in a shinobi fight," she bravely replied. "I hope you are ready for me to get s-serious…"

Sakura grinned back. "Same here…" The kunoichi tightened her fists and took a horse riding fighting stance, with Hinata assuming her clan's well known taijutsu stance in response.

At that moment, two hands shot out of the ground and grabbed Hinata by her ankles. Before she could even react, she was suddenly pulled straight into the earth right up to her neck. The Hyuuga girl's yelp was quickly followed by the reappearance of Naruto jumping out of the ground and crouching right next to her head. The boy dusted himself off, looking like he had seen better days.

Sighing, the blonde grinned down at the girl, wiping the ridge under his nose, while Hinata struggled to pull herself free.

"I learned that one from Kakashi, Hinata-chan," Naruto exclaimed, before looking back over at a rather startled Sakura. He smirked at her, and thumbed over to the log where he was supposedly slumped against a minute or so ago. "Excellent form Sakura, but you'll need more practice in judging the fake me from the real me…"

Sakura responded with a frown as she reassumed her fighting stance. Naruto stood up, his vision becoming a bit fuzzy when he straightened too quickly.

"_That was a smart move Sakura pulled… blinding me before attacking," _Naruto thought, thinking back to the smoke screen that enveloped him and Hinata, moments before Sakura came in and beat the living snot out of him. _"The first three punches that connected hurt like hell… good thing there was an elapse in time in between her attacks for me to switch with a clone…" _The smile he gave his pink haired teammate was followed by a trickle of blood that flowed from the corner of his mouth. _"I think she cracked my jaw…"_

In the blink of an eye, Naruto unexpectedly became a transparent image where he stood, distracting Sakura for a few seconds with his afterimage technique while the real him appeared right behind her, left hand pulled back and his gauntlet blade drawn. The sight of Naruto using his real speed to his advantage alerted Hinata to her friend's predicament.

"Behind you, Sakura!" the Hyuuga shouted.

Thanks to her warning, Sakura responded in time, and ducked under Naruto's assassination hook, his blade flashing through the air when it hit nothing. Despite the fail, the boy grinned at Hinata and Sakura's teamwork to overcome him in this situation.

However, before he could take on a defensive stance, Sakura planted both her hands on the ground and sent a back kick straight into his jaw, knocking him away from the impact. The next second had Sakura crouched low and spin around, swiping a low roundhouse kick at the blonde's feet and knocking him off balance, before returning straight up with an uppercut to his face. Naruto was able to react in time and block the last hit.

Twisting Sakura's wrist around, he threw her over onto her side. Grabbing her shoulder to hold her, he then attempted a knock out blow to her neck, but wasn't able to follow-through with it when he received a punch to the face. Sakura leapt back up after staggering him, and went in for an elbow hit, but shockingly hit nothing but air when she passed right through a Naruto after-image. She was then grabbed from behind when Naruto hooked his arms under where her shoulders were and held her up.

The pink haired girl struggled to get free, even going as far as to kick at his thighs. Though Naruto admitted to getting bruised, he just smirked as he held her firm.

"I guess I win this one," he exclaimed.

"HEY! It's not over till I say it's over!" Sakura shouted, still struggling to get loose. "You know better! Finish it."

"Aw, come on… I don't want to do that," Naruto replied. However, his expression changed drastically when he noticed the smirk on Sakura's face.

The girl grinned at him as her brow furrowed, creating an eerie shadow.

"You fell for it…"

Sakura's body unexpectedly broke apart in Naruto's arms, her physical form breaking up into leaves, which fell away. Naruto hesitated in his shock.

Those leaves suddenly transformed into small paper tags, which wrapped around his arms and clothes, all of them inscribed with very familiar markings on them. It took Naruto only a second to realize they were all paper bombs, with the next second having them all go off right in his face. The explosion rocked the training ground, with the fire consuming the blonde in a hell storm of smoke, ash, cinders and debris.

As it turns out, Sakura and Hinata were both watching from a distance as one of their opponents was taken out of the fight, with the Hyuuga dusting herself down from digging herself out of the ground and Sakura standing a couple meters away from her with her arms folded. The latter admired her handy work, giving the peace sign to back up her victory over Naruto.

"_Ninja Art: Blanket Fire Storm_," she exclaimed, entitling her new genjutsu-transition-ninjutsu technique.

Hinata smiled up at her teammate from where she knelt. "That was really good, Sakura…b-but…" She looked back towards the explosion as it was dying out, a big smoldering crater being the only thing left in the middle of the field. "Was it a bit much… using explosive tags on Naruto-kun?"

"Nah… I'm sure Naruto-kun is fine…" Sakura replied confidently, holding up a fist. "But I'd like to see him get up after that."

"Uhh…Okay…" Naruto's voice suddenly echoed from behind them, both Sakura and Hinata jumping when they heard their teammate's voice resonate from over their shoulders. The boy reappeared out of the shadows in the blink of an eye, having made a quick jump from the explosion to here in less then a second.

Spinning around, both Sakura and Hinata attempted to attack Naruto before he had a chance to retaliate, but the blonde held them off when his hands just appeared in front of both of them, hindering their attacks.

His hidden blades were both drawn and hovering just millimeters away from their faces.

Both arms held at his teammates, the blond chuckled as he watched their frightened expressions change from shocked looks to looks of disappointment.

"Thought yah had me?" Naruto asked, lowering his hands back to his sides. Flicking his wrists, his gauntlet blades disappeared back into his sleeves. "Close… but not quite…"

Overwhelmed by the short spar, Sakura and Hinata collapsed to the grass, while Naruto sat himself down and leaned up against one of the logs behind him. He sighed and looked up towards the starry night sky, and to the moon that was hanging up high above them. It was a really enchanting night, and the fact they were far outside of reach of the village meant that there wasn't much light pollution to ruin the sight. Sakura and Hinata shuffled over to also lie back and look up at the sky with their comrade.

"Why are you so strong Naruto?" Sakura asked curiously and out of the blue, looking over at the blonde from his left. "There is no Genin I know of that can go toe to toe with you…"

"Well…you two…" Naruto chuckled, looking over at Hinata, then over at Sakura, seeing them smile up at him as they lay back against the same log. "You two are perhaps the only ones from our year's graduating group to come close to going toe to toe with me."

"Really?" Hinata asked. Naruto looked back over towards her and nodded his head affirmatively.

"Yeah. I mean… the only other person I really have to try against in fighting head to head, is Lee… and that's really when he opens up the Gates and we're both not wearing any weight. Though Lee beats me every time he enters those modes… he seldom uses them…"

"I'd love to see that," Sakura exclaimed, leaning over and resting her against his shoulder. "Watching you fight is amazing and terrifying at the same time… but mostly amazing…"

Hinata joined her by placing her head on Naruto's other shoulder, both of them getting cozy where they comfortably sat. Stars twinkled brilliantly over the blanket of darkness high above, and the sounds of frogs and insect life perfectly setting the mood for the three members of Team 7. Perhaps for the first time in ages, the three of them could really connect on this level.

"You're both getting really strong," Naruto stated with absolute certainty in his voice. "If you keep training like you are for another year or so, you'll definitely be able to surpass me…"

"Y-You are so much stronger though," Hinata said. "W-We may not have been fighting that seriously… b-but…we've seen you out there on missions and in training… against Ryoko, Anko-sensei and Zabuza-san…"

"That's true," Sakura continued, looking up at him again. "You even took down three Genin from Kumogakure single-handedly. I admit it was just a spat… but _three_!"

"Do you guys really think I win my fights simply through brute strength and speed?" Naruto asked incredulously, looking between his two companions, who were now giving him their full attention. "Believe me… most of the battles I have ever won were through quick thinking, taking advantage of my surroundings, and surprising my opponents. Being strong and having great speed only adds to that equation. But in order to survive in this world… you have to take things very seriously… even in training…"

"I see," Hinata said, her smile widening a little. "Just like against Anko-sensei when w-we first worked together…" This took them all back all those months ago to when they were first assigned as Team 7 and Anko gave them their test to pass them.

"You were very serious then…" Sakura said, running her hand up and down Naruto's arm. "So serious…y-your… your face changed…" She looked up at Naruto, seeing the smile fall from his face when she began mentioning this. "It changed so much… that… that you really became someone else. You weren't the goofy, average Naruto we knew… you became… I don't know…"

"A real killer?" Naruto offered. Sakura looked away, now starting to regret bringing this up, now that they were having such a good time together. Hinata was also looking a it concerned, yet curious at the same time.

"…"

Naruto looked between them, seeing that both his teammates wanted to know more about that part about him he didn't want them to know, a part about him he so desperately tried to hide. The look on his face when it changed during battle, when he became the _Nightwalker,_ the boy that has no shadow even under the light of the moon, and the assassin that has killed so many while in that state of mind.

Though he hated to become that person, he had to tell them.

They were two of the people who were really closest to him…

"I had to fight so hard… day and night… just to survive," he began, looking over at Hinata, seeing her looking at him, fully engrossed in his words. "I told you before… that my life was really hard. But after growing up fighting my whole life…" Naruto looked over at Sakura. "I adapted to it. I not only had to fight against others and defend myself… but I also had to cope with the battle going on inside of me."

His hand gripped his stomach, with Sakura and Hinata noting his visual emphasis on himself.

"I am the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox," he stated. "As a result… it has put me and a lot of other people in harms way. Without a doubt, the Kyuubi is the cause for most… if not all, of the suffering in my life…"

Hinata placed a hand over Naruto's hand on his stomach, as he looked ahead of him with an expression of hurt on his face.

"Before I gained control of it, I first battled with my inner demons… fighting over whether I should truly hate the people who have hurt me so much in my life, or push all those feelings of pain directed towards me aside and move on." Naruto looked over at Sakura and gave her a half-smile. "I guess you can say I did the latter…"

Sakura smiled back at him, with the blonde looking back up at the night sky above them.

"That look I have on my face whenever I fight seriously is a result, as well as a reflection, of the feuds of my past," Naruto replied. "It's perhaps the only thing that remains of the hatred I have long since thrown away…"

Sakura and Hinata accepted this as his answer, and rested their heads back against his shoulders. For some time, the two settled for playing with his coat, feeling the fabric between their fingers, or just pinching it.

The next few minutes of silence had Naruto on edge, and made him wonder whether he made the mistake of telling them or not. But all of that came to pass when Sakura gained his attention by nudging him gently in the arm and edging closer to him.

"When I was younger… I could never fit in with the other girls, or make any friends whatsoever, because I was…'different'…" Sakura stated, looking Naruto in the eyes as he looked down at her. "Any group of girls I tried to approach or anyone for that matter always greeted me with insults, calling me names and poking fun at me about my forehead being so big. It hurt so much… because I didn't know what to do about it. It wasn't like I could physically change who I was… I was too young to really understand anything or make those leaps forward… and I was alone for a long time…"

Naruto listened in, and so did Hinata, as they listened to Sakura's story. The kunoichi continued to fondle with her friend's clothing, before she was able to continue.

"But then Ino… a girl I didn't even know… she helped me out by teaching me to blend in with the other girls," Sakura said with a smile, running a hand through her hair. "She helped me fix up my hair to hide my big forehead, gave me make up tips and stuff… it really… got me going." She then looked up at Naruto. "When I finally started making friends and began interacting with other people… I guess… all that resentment and teasing I had experienced before hand… changed me from the timid girl that I was… but at the same time… that kindness that Ino showed me… rubbed off on me as well. It's made me the kind of person I am today…and has made me make the right choices in life…" She continued staring at Naruto, giving him the most resolved look she has ever given anyone. "And I know I've made the right choice to walk alongside you…"

Naruto blinked when Sakura finished her story, and watched as she gave him her most genuine of smiles. "And I think, after knowing you for over half a year, a bit of your personality has rubbed off on me too…" She stuck her tongue out at him.

The blonde chuckled, and playfully poked her in the forehead. "To me… you look good on the inside and outside, Sakura-chan…" The two of them shared a small laugh together, with Hinata also sharing in the light of their happiness.

"Does Naruto-kun mind if I share with him… my life too?" Hinata asked while nudging the blonde she was leaning against. The two Genin turned to her as well, with Sakura continuing to use Naruto's shoulder as a cushion.

"You can, Hinata… if you want to," Naruto replied, smiling kindly down at her.

"F-Forgive me… if I can't find the words…" being as polite as she was taught and was seemed to her was right, she started off from as far back as she could really remember where their lives truly intersected with one another's. "After…Kurenai-sensei took me in… I… I didn't know what was going to happen to me. It was a change I didn't know about and barely understood and… at first… I was so scared. When I finally found out the real reason why he left me… and realized that my father desired strength in the family… I… I was hurt… upset… and angry at myself. I cried so much… because it hurt so much to be left behind… to be cast away by those who are supposed to love you and care for you…"

She hid her face in Naruto's shoulder, and her body trembled slightly, Naruto gently caressing her as Hinata let it out.

Rubbing her eyes against the fabric of his coat, Hinata's expression of hurt and nervousness turned into a smile, and she took in a deep breath to steady herself.

"It was after that… I found hope; hope in someone who shared my pain… and… despite all that he was going through… never gave up…" Her smile grew, and through tear strung eyes she looked up at Naruto. "You've helped me in more ways then one…Naruto-kun… which is why I continue to follow in your footsteps, wherever you go. Y-You saved me from bullies… and you taught me… to pick myself up every time I get knocked down…" She grinned at him cutely and tilted her head at him. "It's also made me realize… that by following you… I can continue to hope and believe in myself. That is why… I want to stay with you forever…"

Naruto chuckled and pressed his forehead against hers, with Sakura admiring the tenderness the blond shared with her.

As the three of them relived in the moments, where they had shared their pasts with each other, Sakura then came up with another question she was just dying to ask.

"Naruto… can I ask you one more thing?" Sakura spoke.

"Sure…"

"W-Who… do you like more… me… or Hinata?"

It was this very question Naruto, in his present state, as well as his position in a household filled with girls and strangers nudging their way into this topic, was hoping to avoid. Sucking in air, he looked down at both Sakura and Hinata, both of them now looking up at him silently, waiting for his answer.

He held his breath and squinted as he looked ahead at him, knowing that this answer was going to be really painful to give.

Hinata saw the look on his face and giggled, crawling across so that she was more in front of him. Placing her head on his chest, she smiled up at him. Sakura did so to, both girls clearly enjoying the ability to tease the boy.

"Come on, Naruto-kun…" Sakura whispered to him in a particularly seductive manner.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata also whispered, while nuzzling his chest.

"Please you two… it's hard enough as it is trying to come up with an answer," Naruto groaned, now beginning to sweat with the consequences if he should answer them.

For several moments, he was left staring into both girls eyes as they pressured him into an answer, and as much fun as it was for them, it was the worst experience for him. He was beginning to wish he could just use his dad's secret technique now and teleport out of there. Unfortunately, he left all those kunai back at home in his closet, and he didn't really feel compelled to teleport inside of a trunk filled with sharp, pointy objects. Not to mention he felt it would be even more troublesome for him in the future if he did, since he was living with his two teammates.

Still, he had to come up with an answer. His feelings for both of them were equally strong, and in spite of adding up all they had done together, from going on missions, training with each other, going out together and helping each other through and through, it did little in influencing his decision. His heart skipped beats trying to decide one from the other. It was that feeling you usually got when you're watching the sun go down and you're incredibly terrified and excited about what tomorrow would bring for you.

It's a conclusion you wish you never arrive at…

Eventually, the blonde came up with an answer and smiled down at the two.

"I can't choose between you two…" he replied… quite literally of course. "It's an impossible choice…"

"_**Huh**_?" Hinata and Sakura replied at the same time.

"Listen… this isn't going to become some big, eloquent confession of how I can love both of you…" Naruto exclaimed, smiling down at them. He emphasized this by pressing his head against Sakura's. "But really, my answer is that I can't love one girl while breaking the other' girl's heart… it's one of those things I cannot bring myself to do. I will not stand by with another, while leaving the other one crying. It's something I promised myself years ago…"

He then leaned over and pressed his forehead against Hinata's.

"That's my answer…"

Sakura smiled, quite satisfied with his answer for now. In response she turned Naruto's head towards her and kissed him. It was short, yet passionate. Hinata did the same, albeit through an incredibly red face, and though she lacked forwardness, Naruto could tell it was with all her heart. The two girls settled on that and rested their heads on his chest.

"It's you Naruto… a person with a big heart… one big enough to share his life with more then one person," Sakura stated. "It's one of those things I love about you…"

"T-To help someone else in need, and do everything you can to make them happy," Hinata exclaimed.

Naruto chuckled, looking back up at the sky with them.

"Maybe one day… I can give you two a proper answer. But we'll just have to wait and see…"

Once again, the three of them went back to enjoying the night sky above. However, just as they were getting back into the swing of things, an unexpected face appeared right in front of them.

"Hello!" Mia greeted.

"_**GAAAAARRRRHHHHHH!"**_ Naruto, Sakura and Hinata screamed simultaneously, huddling up against each other all the more. The cheeky Rinnegan red head stuck her tongue out at them as she came into full view, body and all, floating upside down in mid-air right in front of them, arms folded and legs crossed.

Her ears tweaked happily as she floated where she was.

"W-W-WHAT THE HELL!" Sakura shouted with eyes widened.

"M-MIA-CHAN!" Hinata yelled.

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Naruto joined them. He then noticed the other weird thing about her. "Hey… you're floating… how do you do that?"

"Oh, I was just in the neighborhood," Mia said, rotating in a clockwise direction in mid-air so that she was floating upright. She then lay over onto her side, still floating, and casually checked her nails. "Well… technically I was hovering right above you this whole time, listening to you three bonding and admitting your love for each other… before I decided to join in this little harem and break the mood…" She smiled down at them, looking rather peachy. "I GOT PICTURES!" She held out her hand and flashed three photographs of them kissing. "Looky! Looky! Aren't you three just adorable?"

The three Genin sweat dropped, with Sakura quickly standing up and snatching the photos from their party pooper's hand. She looked at the photos carefully, seemingly about to destroy the evidence, but instead showed them to the other two more closely.

"She's right… we do look cute…"

Naruto shook her head and looked back up at Mia. "How did you find us?"

Mia giggled and flipped back over, pulling out a magnifying glass out of nowhere and putting on a checkerboard inspector's cap. She held the magnifying glass over her right eye and looked down at them.

"_Elementary my dear Uzutson_!" She joked. She then threw her newly acquired stuff away and laid her chin down on folded arms as she rolled over onto her stomach and floated right down to them. "It's within my powers, wherever my savior goes, I go! _I am everywhere, and nowhere!_" She imitated a cat person next when she said that, but then went back to her usual, grinning self.

"That's… a bit… creepy…" Naruto replied.

"You're not Santa Claus, are you?" Sakura asked curiously.

"No… but I'm thinking of taking up his beard as a part time job," Mia giggled, her body suddenly fading out before fading in, her head lying back on Naruto's lap and giving the boy quite a start. Sakura and Hinata were also a little bit shocked when she suddenly reappeared lying across their teammate. "Hey, hey, hey! Master! Did you know that Christmas is in January now according to Ryoko! Isn't that exciting?"

"Seriously Mia… why are you here?" Naruto asked in annoyance, while grinning on the inside. _"Part time job… yeah right. She'll make heaps more money at Halloween parties…"_

Mia pouted and sat up, sitting promptly next to the three. "You're no fun." Folding her arms, she then smiled fiercely at them, giving them another glimpse of her personality, which seemed to be doing cartwheels around the protractor. "I've been listening to you three talk, and I find it quite remarkable that, the three of you can so willingly accept each other, especially in this generation. I can understand that because I came from an era where a clan head could take on more then one wife, and in rare cases, have the heart to truly love more then one of them. But I still find your bonds with your teammates intriguing…"

This statement was given emphasis by how close Naruto came to Hinata and Sakura, both of them having their arms wrapped around his. This was either on instinct, or they just weren't keen on having Mia snatch him away from them. Whatever the case, Naruto was shown to be more connected with them then with anyone else. Mia smiled.

"Love of this level and intimacy rarely occurs on a blue moon," the Sage stated, nodding her head. But then, a frown appeared on her face, her look becoming quite serious. "However… there is something I have to find out…"

Naruto, Sakura and Hinata looked at each other, and then back at the red head. After a few seconds of careful thought, Mia stood up, and once she was on her feet, reached over and drew her spirit staff. Twirling it around on drawing it, she tapped its end on the ground, a pulse of energy rippling out from the impact point. Once she had done that, she nodded her head in a gesture for them to follow her.

"I want you three to come with me…" she said. "I have a test I want you to perform…" The young woman then headed off.

Though hesitant at first, the members of Team 7 eventually got up and quietly followed after the roundabout lady.

* * *

_**Training Ground 44…**_

"H-here…?" Hinata shivered, hiding behind Naruto as the three Genin stared up at the towering metal fences surrounding Konoha's infamous Forest of Death. "W-W-Why are we here?"

"You have got to be kidding me?" Sakura mouthed incredulously, before pointing up towards the trees. The sounds of forest dwelling animals and beasts of all shapes and sizes could be heard echoing through the night. "There is no way we're going back in there!"

"Anko-sensei made us go in there against our own free will! There's no way we're going in there by choice!" Naruto stated, crossing his arms and looking over at the Sage of Six Paths, who was giving them the 'silent' look. "What is it that you have planned for us?"

Spinning her staff, she then pointed it towards the forest.

"Out of all the places in this entire village, _this_ forest is the most untouched region I can detect," Mia stated, lowering her weapon. "In order to look within yourselves and find the answers you are seeking, you must first tread upon the soil I once had to, in order to find the answers _**I**_ was searching for. I am certain that if you enter this forest, your hearts and souls will truly bond, not just through great adversity, but also through great serenity. True peace is achieved through nature, where the world is in balance. It's this balance that allows the spirit to be free."

Naruto, Hinata and Sakura looked at the woman as she explained this, but they were still confused as to the point of their presence here.

"Why though?" Sakura asked.

"W-Why did you bring us here? And what… what for?" Hinata also queried.

"This is the test I am giving to you," Mia continued. "There is an area inside of this forest that I once visited over a thousand years ago that has extraordinary spiritual and physical energies manifesting itself within. It's a place long forgotten by this village, but I believe it still has a strong connection to this plain of reality. It's a place that will test you mentally and physically, and it will determine whether or not your bonds for each other are true…" Waving a hand through the air over the fence, incredible telekinetic forces generated by her tore a hole, right in the fence's side. Once it was done, she smiled and turned back to the three, rather stunned students. "Just go straight ahead… you have until morning."

Not really in the mood to upset Mia when she was in that state of mind, Naruto, Sakura and Hinata stepped forward without question. Together, the three of them enter the forest through the fence, with Mia closing it up behind them. Within a minute, they were out of sight, and the Sage of Six Paths took a seat right on the grass outside of the forest's boundaries where she stood.

Assuming a meditative position, she stared at the fence, following the chakra signals of the three Genin.

"_Even if I had told them they could die taking this journey… they probably would have gone in anyway…"_ Mia closed her eyes and sighed. _"In the end… one of them __**will**__ die…"_

_

* * *

_

_**Deep within the forest…**_

Naruto, Sakura and Hinata wandered through the thick undergrowth of the forest floor, trying to find the very place the Sage of Six Paths had told them about. Pushing through bushes, stepping over pits, and trying to avoid all the poisonous plants, Team 7 moved on, once again getting a feel of what the Forest of Death was really like.

It took them back to the times Anko introduced them to this place. The three of them had to survive for a whole day, while avoiding her and her snakes. Not to mention not get killed by the ravenous animals and giant insects that lived in this place. The only good thing that they believed to come out of one particular training session was, not the survival experience or the teamwork, but the fact that they managed to get out of that giant Venus flytrap that ate them.

"I swear… if that plant shows up again… I'm gutting it!" Sakura said. Naruto laughed at the memory, with Hinata giggling as well.

Drawing a trench knife from his coat, Naruto slashed through a thicket of overhanging vines and branches, tossing one over to Hinata to use as well, clearing a good, open path through the area they were hiking through.

Thanks to Hinata's Byakugan, they were able to make it through the worst of it. But the darkness and dangers of the night hindered them, out of fear and hesitance.

No matter what, every ninja had a natural fear of the dark. It wasn't just an asset; it was also their worst nightmares.

"This is so cliché, don't you think?" Naruto asked, glancing back at his friends as he hacked away at a thick vine.

"W-What do you mean, Naruto?" Hinata turned to him.

"I mean… a spiritual quest, trying to find your one true self, while at the same time, walking through the middle of this Kami forsaken jungle?" he asked. He hacked his way forward. "I feel like I've seen this before…"

"Anko-sensei never made us connect with our spiritual side before," Sakura shrugged, sharing this little thought. "She said all that crap was left for the future. I think she was more inclined on getting us to do more physical stuff…"

"M-Maybe this will teach us something really worth while about ourselves… something that will help us move forward…" Hinata said.

"Hmm… maybe," Naruto murmured, cutting at some more shrubbery. "This is all… new to me…"

They marched on, slicing through more undergrowth till they entered a clear patch. Making it here, they continued on.

Hours seemed to pass, and in that time, the group got a bit more talking done, and wondered what the test was going to do for them. But then, after walking for about two kilometers in, they arrived at what seemed to be a tunnel of tree roots, all stemming from gigantic red woods, all jumbled together.

The three stopped outside of it, looking upon the cave of roots in great interest, and marveling at how it arched through the air. It was a huge passageway, and it was clear to them that it was this area that Mia wanted to find.

Sakura lowered her head and glanced over at her female counterpart.

"Hinata…"

The Hyuuga nodded and formed a hand seal.

"Byakugan!"

Her eyes sprouted veins and her eyes flashed as chakra was pumped into them. Her vision increased tenfold and enhanced on the cave entrance. Looking it over several times and seeing what was up ahead, made the girl fidget nervously. This earned the attention of her other teammates.

"Well?"

"T-There is a weird chakra inside… I… I don't know exactly what but… it… doesn't look… normal," she replied, lowering her hands and looking over at Naruto. "We should get a closer look…"

Agreeing, the three of them moved forward, with Hinata up front, scanning the darkness for traps or dangerous plant life. But the journey through the tunnel held no obstacles in front of them, and soon enough, after passing through the shaft of tree roots and vines, the group exited on the other side a few minutes later.

They were astonished when they entered a swampy ground, a small lowland space inside a cluster of massive redwoods stretching high up into the sky, completely eclipsing the moon and stars. All around there were huge fungi formations and mushrooms growing on the trees, the vines and plant life here picking up all the moisture it needed to grow. The flora was rich here, the nutrients clearly visible in the form of the luminous mushrooms and fireflies floating around. The only thing out of the ordinary here, was that there was a thick mist and fog, floating above the soggy floor.

It only reached to about their knees.

Spreading out a bit, Sakura, Hinata and Naruto drank in the scene, awe struck by the tree chamber's beauty and majesty. It was for the next few minutes of peace that they were able to take in the whole scope of this spot from the center.

"What is this place?" Sakura asked.

"I…It looks to be some sort of… water catchment area…" Hinata said, placing her hand against the side of a mossy tree and looking up at some of the rather large mushrooms growing above them, providing them with an umbrella from the small streams of water falling to down from the canopy. Getting a feel for the trunk, she was able to detect signs of significant moisture build up. "S-Shino told me that… a lot of plants catch water from rains with the shapes of their leaves and roots, in order to preserve life, and absorb moisture over summer…"

"That explains all the fireflies and beetles," Naruto said, taking note of the insects floating around, providing light in a lot of the dark spaces. "But… why?"

Sakura looked over at her boyfriend across the way, the blonde Genin checking out one of the large mushrooms, about the size of a small tree, growing out of the side of the red wood.

The blanket of shadows behind Naruto went unnoticed.

"Why did we come here?" Sakura asked. "Seriously… why did Mia send us here in the first place?"

Naruto shrugged.

Not sure of what else was going on, he looked over at Hinata, who was standing to Sakura's far right; the three of them forming a triangle in the large, circular area, which had to be about a hundred meters in diameter. He saw that the Hyuuga girl was looking at him.

"Hinata… can you find anything else that can give us a clue as to what is in here?" Naruto asked, gesturing to the area around them.

"N-N-N-Naruto…" Hinata replied meekly and, for a better word, in pure horror. Naruto raised an eyebrow, noticing the sweat pouring down his friend's face and that her body was trembling violently. Raising a shaky hand, the young Hyuuga pointed towards him, her eyes widening to give her the appearance that she was looking right at a ghost. In reality, the girl was more focused on the silhouette in the shadows behind Naruto.

"B-B-Behind… you…"

Before Naruto could respond, a sharp pain shot through his body, and a long, black blade surrounded by blue electricity exploded out of his chest, blood splattering across the floor. Gasping in a silent shout of agony, Naruto was suddenly lifted off his feet, as the Chidori lined blade carried him a few feet out from where he stood, before ungraciously throwing him away, sending his pain stricken body flying through the air and tumbling across the damp ground on impact.

Naruto rolled to a stop in a crumpled heap at Sakura's feet, gripping his chest and gasping for air, spitting out blood as he looked back towards where he was attacked, to find out who had attacked him. His pink haired teammate had also become aware of the threat and was trembling in fear at the sight of it.

After disposing of the blonde, the unknown figure in the shadows slowly marched into the light; the black blade held in its hand still crackling wildly with potent electricity. When it exited the shadows, the figure was revealed to be a young adult, around sixteen years old, wearing steel plated armor derivative of ANBU armor, and bandoleers of katanas with kunai handles all over his body. He also had armored wrist gauntlets with pipes sticking into his arms, his blackened fingers ringed with claws molded into them on his right hand, almost like Freddy Krueger, and syringes on all his fingers on his left hand, with pipes connecting them to a pack on his back. To complete the outfit, the man wore a tattered Akatsuki cloak around his waist, the cloud patterns faded and stained with blood. He also adorned a red scythe with three blades on his back, along with what appeared to be Zabuza's Executioner's Blade.

The figure was a sight of horror and pure terror; Naruto, Sakura and Hinata immediately backing away at the sight of him.

But the worst shock was yet to come.

The sixteen year old enemy walked further into the light, showing his face. Amidst the crackling of the Chidori lightning blade chirping away, with the bolts flashing through the air, the figure revealed itself to be wearing a strange mask that covered the entire upper half of his head, with a design that resembles the Ten-Tailed Beast's eye. A ripple pattern and tomoes for eyeholes were distinctly present, along with the same breathing apparatus Hanzo had.

However, there was only half a mask to be seen on the face, with the left side of the figure's face revealed to the world. It was damaged, but it was clear. Adorned with metallic stitches holding the face together, a Rinnegan nestled in the eye socket, and a scarred burn mark across the once peachy cheek, Team 7 was presented a horrifying sight.

That face and the spiky yellow hair were unmistakable…

The shadow assassin glaring at the trio was…

"N-Naruto…" Sakura gasped.

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	28. Stand By You

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Stand By You_

"N-Naruto?" Sakura was shaking from head to toe, unable to take her eyes, not to mention her mind, off of the second Naruto that had appeared. The phantom or whatever it was that had appeared before them was nothing like the Naruto slumped on the ground in front of her and Hinata. This one wasn't Naruto at all.

It was something sick…

Something evil…

"I-It can't be…" Hinata shivered, hands held together tightly. Suddenly, she felt like she was that weak little girl again.

"WAKE UP YOU TWO!" Naruto shouted, blood spraying from his mouth as he spoke, grabbing Sakura by the ankle, while continuing to glare at his older, counterpart still walking towards them. "DON'T LOOK HIM IN THE EYES!"

Sakura and Hinata were snapped out of their reverie and averted their gaze, keeping their attention away from the young assassin's face as they were told, and instead focused on his chest. However, it did little to help with their shaking, as they could still here a metallic, raspy breathing coming from their opponent, who stopped at medium-distance fighting range from them.

"Naruto…" Sakura hissed, sweat pouring down her face. Her expression matched that of Hinata's and Naruto's, who was still wheezing from the blow to his chest. "What the hell is that thing?"

"T-There is no way that _**that**_ is you," Hinata whispered over.

"Ugh…" Naruto struggled to get up, staggering into a kneeling down position on the floor, clutching the open wound in his chest. Noticing his state, Sakura quickly knelt down and began healing the wound in his back. "You remember that story… …I told you… how years ago I had to fight off my inner demons and make a choice…?" The two of them nodded in response. Naruto shrugged. "Well… that's what I would look like today if I _**had**_ made the _**wrong**_ choice…"

Sakura and Hinata couldn't help but stare at their opponent's feet in shock.

"T-That… would be you… _today_?"

"Possibly…" Naruto replied, looking up at his opponent a little bit further, analyzing his weapons and appearance. "In order to gain the Kyuubi's chakra, you must first remove all the hatred from your body… your _dark_ side. As I was told, I let go of my hatred and cast it aside, and it allowed me to move forward. But…" Naruto's brow furrowed, his teeth bearing. "I never thought I'd see my other half again! After… letting it bubble and boil in the recesses of my mind, I never realized it would grow and get stronger! I shouldn't be this surprised, dammit!" He gripped his chest, his insides almost torn up. _"I'm useless in this state! He got the drop on me…"_

"So… this is our test?" Sakura mumbled as the wound she was healing on Naruto's back closed up. "We'll pretend it's someone else and just beat the snot out of him…" Gaining a bit of courage, Sakura's fists clenched, and she stood up. "Remember our training!"

Hinata shook as she looked the person in front of them over. "O-Opponent analysis; human male, age: sixteen, designation: ninja, rank: unknown, speed: unknown…"

"If it's anything like mine, then … we might be in a bit of trouble," Naruto whispered, looking over to his right.

"Weapon breakdown," Hinata began again, looking over what she can see. "Kenjutsu class; five katana, assorted ninja m-material, ANBU armor… and s-syringes used for medical purposes or poison, with finger blades welded to the finger tips…" She then looked up a bit more. "Scythe…a triple blade… and a Decapitating Carving Knife… Z-Zabuza-san's weapon…"

"Hold on… I'll break down his other weapons…" Naruto stated, looking up briefly to look his other half in the face. He was standing passively away, apparently making an analysis of the three of them as well. "Let's see, broken face mask, obviously porcelain… a Rinnegan in his left socket…" He took a closer look at the other eye hole, and was a little bit surprised at the other handicap tool he saw nestled in the shadows, "…and a Sharingan in the right eye socket; triple tomoe, fully developed and deadly… great! One off from a full set…"

Suddenly, the Dark Naruto in front of them made a rather disgusting change. The eyeball in his left socket suddenly rolled over, the Rinnegan disappearing, and being replaced with a glass like eye, veins sprouting on the left side of his face. Naruto, Sakura and Hinata blinked in surprise.

"That's a neat trick…" Sakura mumbled.

"Great… he has the Byakugan as well… terrific!" Naruto mumbled. He then cleared his throat, still tasting blood, and struggling to his feet. "L-Listen… if you two could hold… I mean… _**can**_… hold him off for a few minutes and buy me some time… I… I need to heal…"

"That's fine, Naruto-kun," Hinata took a stance, followed by Sakura, who stepped in front of her wounded teammate. "We won't hold back…"

"Watch out… because he has a Rinnegan. It's possible he can use jutsu in all the Chakra Elements too at their full power…" Naruto warned, easing his way back and lying against the tree behind him. "This place manifests spiritual and physical energies… and has combined all of them into _**that**_… do not take him lightly…"

It was with that said; the Dark Naruto in front of them took action. The Byakugan flipped over into the Rinnegan once again, a split second later, the warrior reached over onto its back and drew the Executioner's Blade, twirling it in his hand as if it were a kunai. Holding the carving blade and its katana crackling with lightning in both hands, the dark abomination charged. Blades dragging along the ground, it kicked up clouds of dust and sparks, Hinata and Sakura stepping back for a bit of space.

Sakura clenched her fist, chakra pouring into it and suddenly glowing blue. Rushing forward, she met Dark Naruto half way and took a swing. However, the Naruto look-a-like did something neither of them expected, and suddenly exploded into a cloud of smoke. The smoke passed right through and around Sakura, the pink haired kunoichi shocked at the technique and double-backed. The smoke that passed through her reconstituted itself behind her and continued rushing Naruto at full speed.

Knowing that he was the most likely target of this dark shadow of himself, the spiky haired blonde reacted in an instant, back flipping straight up into the air and making an incredible ten story leap into the air. The Dark Naruto struck out at that last second, but instead crashed headlong into the tree that was behind Naruto, disappearing in an explosion of splinters, debris and dust.

Landing with his back pressed up against the tree he landed on, Naruto looked down from above, sweating nervously and biting back the pain coursing through his body.

"_I can't be moving like this…" _Naruto thought as he felt his limbs tremble. _"My body is going into shock… must be that Lightning Blade technique he used…" _He blinked, suddenly recognizing that technique. _"Shit… would I have stolen techniques from Kakashi-sensei as well?"_

Suddenly, Dark Naruto came sprinting up the side of the tree, weapons still raised as he attacked his good counter-part. Naruto was caught off guard by the phantom's speed and drew his hidden blade, preparing to defend himself. He wasn't able to react fast enough when Dark Naruto came right up to him, Executioner's Blade swinging in his direction.

But a cloud clang sounded, accompanied by a thump, when Dark Naruto suddenly received a powerful knee in the face, with his sword slammed away by a fist on its flat side. Naruto was astounded when he saw Sakura right in front of him, tackling Dark Naruto right off of the tree, and knocking him off of his charge. The smirk that formed on her face in the slow motion of her executed blow showed the dramatic change from defender to attacker.

"Don't ignore me!" she shouted before letting loose a roundhouse kick to the Dark Naruto's head, who was sent plummeting to the large mushrooms below. He crashed through the meaty trees and hit the ground hard with a loud sloshing noise to be heard. He disappeared beneath the thin layer of fog.

"Thanks for the save…" Naruto panted, earning a wink from Sakura.

"No problem…"

There was a sudden earth tremor on the tree they were mounted against, and out of the corner of their eyes, both Sakura and Naruto spotted a split in the earth where Dark Naruto had landed. It started at a large burst of dust and debris, which then shot across the ground, and then up the tree they were perched against. Both of them leapt away when Dark Naruto's clawed hand shot out and tried to skewer them. The two Genin landed on a large branch at a safe distance away, while their opponent dug his way out of the tree trunk.

"Don't take your eyes off of him… even for a second," Naruto stated, watching as his older, darker self completely crawled out then charged again, Executioner's Blade held in both hands. _"I doubt this one will need less then that to take our heads off…"_

The moment Dark Naruto hit the branch Naruto was crouching on and recuperating, Sakura stood attentively in front of him teammate, defending him, and watching the older version of him charging at them. However, before the phantom could reach them, Hinata got in the way, and with a quick flurry of punches, drove the older teen off who held up the sword he was holding in front of him to block her juken strikes. The hard hitting palm strikes shook the branch, and eventually pushed the evil spirit into the trunk the branch was attached to.

Hinata leapt back, taking a defensive stance, as the Dark Naruto twirled the Executioner's Blade around and took a stance as well.

In the blink of an eye, the Dark Naruto held the huge sword back and threw his clawed hand in front of him, lightning unexpectedly pouring straight out of it and heading straight for Hinata. The Hyuuga responded by leaping to the side to avoid being hit by the attack. The currents of electricity then shot for Naruto and Sakura, who also leapt off of the side of the tree as the bolt carved a nice, black gash in the branch.

Hinata didn't jump off though. No, when she evaded she kept her feet planted firmly on the tree, ran underneath the branch they were on then back over, taking on the phantom from his blind side to his right. Dark Naruto was still firing off blasts of electricity at his targets that were no longer there, till he felt the presence of the other come up on his right side, causing him to spin around. A palm strike to the chest sent him falling from the twelve story position, with Hinata pursuing, diving off to continue her attack.

She caught up to him in the dive quickly, and continued hammering punches into his chest before both of them crashed to the ground, dust shooting straight up from the increased impact. Naruto and Sakura were able to watch from their position on the ground when Hinata drove her target into the ground, both of them surprised at her willingness to fight.

Eventually, out of the dust cloud, Hinata leapt out backwards, skidding to a stop in front of her teammates, and still facing the crash site, Byakugan flaring.

"H-He's still up… be careful…" she said.

Sakura took a stance, while Naruto continued to catch his breath, hand held over his exit wound in his chest. He helped the recovery process along by concentrating chakra on the affected area, his hand glowing green with healing chakra.

Just then, the silhouette of their opponent emerged, followed by a flash and sparks. Sakura took note of this, and dived for Naruto and knocking both of them away. Hinata too, just in time to avoid a stream of fire that shot out of the cloud of smoke and began smoldering the tree behind them, but not setting it alight as it should.

The place was practically immune to damage…

The stream of fire poured out like it was being fired from a flame-gauntlet like it was fed by gasoline. The fire stuck to the tree it struck, leaving a nice fire trail in its wake.

Sakura, responding quickly, drew a kunai from her pouch laced with a dozen explosive tags. She tossed it to where she knew Dark Naruto was hiding, and when it detonated on impact, lit up like a C4 explosive strapped to fireworks. When the tags detonated, Dark Naruto leapt out of it and up into the canopy high above, landing safely a top of a branch high above. With Sakura keeping close to him, Naruto decided to help out as best as he could in his position.

Using a small amount of chakra, he formed his quick hand seal and created a handful of clones, who were also suffering chest pains where they stood.

"Sorry… I can't do much…"

"That's alright… lead on," Sakura stated.

"Here…" Naruto reached into his trench coat and pulled out two brass knuckles. He tossed them over to his friend. "You may need these…"

"Oh… awesome," Sakura exclaimed, slipping one of them on. When she did, she pumped chakra into it, the blue energy sheathing into more of a boxing glove shape. She grinned down at him, and he smirked back, seeing the look of delight reflected in her eyes.

"Consider it an early birthday present…"

The clones dashed forward and sprinted up the tree, quickly followed by Hinata.

The clones ran loops around the trunks and came around at the Dark Naruto on all sides, who drew the Executioner's Blade and swung around and at them in all directions. He took out two in one swing, moving back to block the strikes of the next incoming. Hinata leapt up onto the tree a second later and charged, palms glowing with pure blue chakra as she let it out on the phantom.

Giant sword met palms strikes as Dark Naruto took on Hinata head to head, and managed to drive her back with every well timed strike. He eventually hit an opening and kicked out at the Hyuuga, sending her tumbling back along the branch before she fell over its side, dangling at a dangerous twenty stories above the ground.

The Dark Naruto walked up to where the girl desperately clung on to, bringing his blade around and holding it down at her, aiming to slice off her fingers. Hinata looked up at him, fear instantly shooting across her face as she gazed in the shadowy face, the purple Rinnegan and the red glow of the Sharingan becoming easily visible. The phantom breathed in that spine chilling, raspy inhale and exhale, before bringing the sword around to cut her.

But just before it could, the phantom got distracted, and spun around and swung out at a Naruto clone coming down from above. The clone met the same fate as the others and exploded as the attack passed straight through it. This gave Hinata the second she needed.

Reaching over, she grabbed the evil Naruto by the ankle and with one mighty pull, threw him over. The adult Naruto was startled but not disoriented enough to continue the fall, and managed to grab onto the branch, at the same time Hinata hoisted herself up.

With great effort, she dropped to a crouch and spun kick just as Dark Naruto attempted to haul up. It received a full on kick to the face and was sent falling once again.

However, instead of falling completely, it suddenly dissipated into a cloud of black smoke, which traveled upwind and reappeared on a tree branch across from Hinata. Executioner's Blade still in hand, it then pulled up its free hand and held its gauntlet out, a crossbow making its appearance. It unfolded from its wrist guard and spread itself open, cranking back to deliver full torque. Hinata took a stance in response, waiting for the shot.

But just before Dark Naruto could fire, a kunai thrown from Sakura down below struck him in the wrist and sent his arm straight up, where the crossbow misfired and sent an arrow laced with explosive tags straight up into the canopy. It detonated safely above, sending just a few twigs and burnt branches down to where Naruto and Sakura were crouching below.

Staggering from the kunai lodged in his wrist, Dark Naruto silently reached over and ripped the weapon from his flesh. The blank expression he wore indicated he wasn't affected at all by the pain, and looked as though he was still toying. However, as he staggered, two hands shot out of the tree branch he was standing on and held him.

Distracted for just a split second, the masked phantom became aware of a shadow out of the corner of his eye and looked up. He was just in time to see Sakura kick off of the tree trunk of the branch he was standing on and fly straight at him, brass knuckles worn and glowing hot blue with chakra.

"EAT THIS!" Sakura roared and slammed a powerful blow across Dark Naruto's face, but instead hit the flat side of the Executioner's Blade when he held up to block. Unfortunately for him, upon impact of the fist, the blade split clean in two, and the punch drove straight into his chest instead, knocking him staggering back.

One half of the Executioner's Blade fell straight to the ground, and impaled the soil several feet away from Naruto, who was watching the fight unfold high above him.

Staggering to a stop, Dark Naruto glanced down at his now blunt sword and, after analyzing it for a second, glared up at Sakura, who was grinning behind bared fists, ready for action.

"Awww… did I break your favorite toy?" she mocked, grinning. _"Kami… sensei must be rubbing off on me…"_

Uninterested in his weapon, Dark Naruto tossed it aside, and instead, drew one of his katana. Spinning it in his hand, he then crouched low and lunged at her, blade crackling with electricity. Sakura blocked the first few slashes with her chakra inflamed fists, then a kunai, but the bladed weapon quickly split on an attempted parry and she leapt back to avoid being skewered. But the kunoichi didn't get far when her back met the tree, and Dark Naruto held the blade up for a finishing stab.

However, before he had the chance, Hinata charged at Dark Naruto from behind, who easily noticed her from the Byakugan sitting on the other side of his Rinnegan, and he spun around, slashing at her instead. Hinata, drew a kunai and quickly blocked it, but got knocked back all the same. She retreated as Dark Naruto lashed out at her, both of them exchanging blows between blades, sparks flying. Eventually, he struck at her with an upward slash and knocked her flying back a significant way, her kunai and arm numb with electricity crackling around it. The phantom charged at her, bringing around the triple bladed scythe, aiming to finish her.

He struck out, and slammed the middle blade straight through her side. But the look of shock on the Hyuuga's face disappeared upon getting impaled and was quickly replaced by a cloud of white smoke. When it dissipated, a log was instead found to be impaled on Dark Naruto's scythe, and the phantom looked down at it in mid-thought, for only a moment. He then drew his attention back to Sakura and glared at her, pumping chakra into the scythe he held in his right hand, flames suddenly engulfing it.

Apparently he also had fire chakra he could apply to his weapon. Speaking of which, was glowing white hot.

He charged at Sakura, who, seeing the oncoming threat took the best course of action and ran for it, but not before tossing a kunai laced with an explosive tag on the branch before leaving over the side. When it detonated, the explosion engulfed Dark Naruto and the entire branch, sending a smoke cloud everywhere as Sakura vacated to the tree across. She grinned and pumped a fist out in front of her when she turned back to admire her handiwork.

"How'd you like that… eh?"

Dark Naruto suddenly came flying straight for her out of the ash hot cloud like the Grim Reaper on steroids, an inflamed Scythe spinning around his body before slicing out at the kunoichi in his sights when he covered a distance of over a hundred meters in less then a second. Sakura leapt out of the way just as he impacted the tree, apparently going straight through it, as the pink haired kunoichi descended over the blast of debris, looking back in shock.

"Impossible! I blinded him…"

"Sakura!" Naruto shouted from below as she landed on another, lower hanging branch. "He has the Rinnegan and Byakugan! Nothing you do can blind him! The best you can do is attack from a blind spot!"

When Sakura landed, she crouched and looked up to where Dark Naruto was high above. Just as she was getting settled on the idea that he was still up there, a sudden flash of electricity caught her attention, and out of pure instinct, she jumped. She just managed to do so in time to avoid a massive lightning dragon that shot out of the tree. The techniques designated _**Kirin**_ shot through the air in 1/1000th of a second, and the explosion when it struck the tree Sakura was once standing on was so immense, it sent her plummeting to the ground far below, where Naruto was able to catch her, and quickly shield her from the hot blast of debris to follow.

In a matter of seconds, it was over and Naruto, covered in dust and splinters, relinquished Sakura, whom he cradled in his arms. He looked over his shoulder at the tree through the cloud of smoke, which had a massive burn mark in its side, before smiling down at Sakura.

"You okay?"

"Yeah…" Sakura exclaimed. But then her expression changed to one of terror when she saw a towering silhouette land behind Naruto. "N-No…"

Naruto reacted faster this time and, carefully dropping Sakura, spun around and drew a kunai, blocking a blow from above when a scythe came straight down on top of him. Pumping wind chakra into his blade, he held off against the fire sheath of the triple bladed scythe as he kept it from slicing straight through him. With great effort Naruto bit and held his position through gritted teeth, his hand singing from being so close to the heat.

Dark Naruto passively continued to put pressure on his target, who was literally already on his knees, holding the attack back. He was so close to bringing the menacing blades down completely, and just as he was about to open up with his free hand to impale the boy with his syringes, there was a flutter on the wind, causing the phantom to glance over to his left momentarily, where the silhouette of Hinata suddenly swooped down from the canopy above.

With a mighty yell of effort, the Hyuuga sent a chakra powered kick straight up into the scythe.

The kick was strong enough to knock the weapon off of Naruto and send it spinning out of Dark Naruto's grip, where it flew up into the trees above, and impaled itself against a tree trunk.

Hinata followed through with her kick, with a swift jab to the tall phantom, who staggered back from receiving the blow after watching his second best weapon fly from his grip. Then, when Hinata lunged again, the phantom responded in haste, leaping back and away, heading straight up into the trees above, and taking refuge on a giant mushroom about fifteen stories above them.

'You will not hurt my teammates!" Hinata shouted, taking another, different fighting stance to her usual one. It was a stance Naruto recognized as the one he taught her, and smiled.

"Thanks Hinata…"

The girl smiled at being thanked and blushed slightly, but that quickly disappeared when she refocused on the Dark Phantom above.

The tall, ghost of a ninja tilted his head as he glared down at the small group below. After quick thinking, it decided on the next best course of action. Holding both its hands in front of it, a gust of wind picked up as a tremendous amount of chakra began gathering around it, as noted by the blue streaks of wind rotating in the space around it. Hinata quickly noticed this through her Byakugan, followed by Sakura and Naruto.

"W-What the?" Sakura spoke.

"There's a tremendous amount of chakra gathering around his chest…" Hinata warned.

Naruto blinked, attempting to figure out what technique was coming their way. It was when the Dark Naruto above slapped its hands together into a Tiger seal did the others below realize what was coming next.

"Tiger Seal!" Hinata shouted.

"Fire style… GET DOWN!" Naruto shouted, grabbing Sakura by the arm and pulling her behind him as he pushed himself up to his feet.

After flying through a succession of hand seals, Dark Naruto inhaled a deep, raspy breath of air, the chakra around him gathering and bubbling in his lungs, before being let out in one mighty gust. It was in that instant, it actually spoke its first words, which sounded nothing like Naruto at all.

"_**Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"**_ his voice boomed in a raspy, deep, slightly metallic voice. When it exhaled, fire shot out of its lungs, which twisted and formed into the shape of a dragons head, the ash gathering around it giving it a more definitive look. With an explosion of force, the Fire Dragon then rocketed straight down to the forest floor, right on top of the three Genin, its mouth gaping wide open as it struck.

In that split second, Naruto got Sakura and Hinata behind him and stood right in front of the technique, throwing both his arms out. The attack crashed full on into him first, before proceeding to roast everything around and behind him.

Dark Naruto continued feeding fuel to the fire as the hot, blow torch of a fire continued to pour from his lips. It soon intensified, the fire escaping his lips turning hot white, with the fire down below growing bigger and bigger, smoke bellowing up into the canopy as the ground was sterilized.

Just as the fire was reaching its hottest, as it poured down on top of them, Sakura and Hinata, who were surprised that they themselves were still conscious, were continuing to shelter from the storm of fire. However, the shocking part wasn't the fact they were still alive. What shocked them even more was when they looked up, they saw that Naruto was still standing in front of them, hands thrown out as he blocked the fire and kept it from engulfing his teammates. Through the bellowing flames and cinders, Sakura and Hinata saw that Naruto had coated his entire body in his wind element chakra, forcing the fire to thin out and go around him.

Growling behind his own strength, Naruto stepped back, and slapped his hands together into Bird Seal, followed by a Hare, Horse, Ram, Snake, and then Bird again.

"_Wind Release: Dragon versus Tiger!" _

The flames whipping around on the ground suddenly exploded apart when a huge gust of wind bellowed out of Naruto's lips and surrounded them like a tornado, sucking away the air needed for the fire and effectively extinguishing it. Dark Naruto above blinked in shock and leant back, watching as his fires were effectively extinguished by the miniature tornado shooting out of Naruto's mouth, before it suddenly took shape into that of a Dragon-Tiger, and roared straight up towards the phantom perched on his branch.

Soundlessly, the man raised his right hand up to face the Rage of Wind charging him down, and extended his fingers towards it.

"_**Shinra Tensei!"**_

A pulse of gravitation force shot out of his hand and bellowed straight into the Dragon-Tiger, dissipating and effectively stopping it in its tracks. Within seconds, the shockwave echoed straight down towards Naruto and the others, and when it hit the ground, a loud bang ricocheted in all directions, staggering the three Genin, who held their arms in front of them to block the wave of energy. The ringing in their ears that followed died out soon after.

Staggering back and falling to his knees, Naruto panted heavily, his chakra half gone from the technique he just used. Sakura held him by the shoulders while Hinata stood at their defense.

They were all badly burnt, clothes singed, burns marks here and there, and covered in ash, you name it. Naruto coughed a bit before glancing back at Sakura as she began healing him using Mystical Palm Technique.

"Well… I'm almost out of ideas…" he spoke up.

"What the hell was that he just used?"

"Don't know…" Naruto replied, looking up. "Some kind of shockwave…"

Hinata blinked, suddenly seeing their opponent crouch low then leap straight up into the air and directly over them high above. As it flew over head with its head pointed down towards them, it formed a quick series of hand seals, all three Genin alerted to the next incoming attacks.

"_**Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!" **_Dark Naruto spoke, in taking air and, placing his fingers over his lips, fired off a barrage of huge fire balls straight down at the group. They weren't the regular, small fire balls. No…

These were gargantuan, miniature Great Fire Ball Techniques fired simultaneously down at them.

Hinata reacted quickly and, standing in between Naruto and Sakura, pivoted on the spot, using her chakra to boost her spin. In a matter of second, she was spinning at the velocity of a tornado, a chakra sheath of wind surrounding all three of them.

"_Rotation!" _Hinata shouted as she initiated her _Eight Trigram Palms Heavenly Spin._

The fireballs struck the space around and right on top of the group, the fireballs detonating one after the other as it struck. The damage the attacks had on impact was astounding, debris, rubble and splinters flying everywhere, as heat bellowed out, around and engulfed the three Genin. Dark Naruto landed on a branch opposite his previous position, and watched as his attacks took effect, the last of explosions dying off, and soon dissipating to reveal a scorched ground far below.

Looking through the smoke, the tall phantom then unexpectedly spotted his three adversaries huddled up against the side of a tree directly in his sights, Hinata still standing in front of the group with Sakura healing her other teammate. They were a bit singed this time, but didn't suffer any serious damage.

Hinata's defense had saved them.

The Hyuuga breathed out and glanced behind her at the other two.

"H-How long?"

"Not good…" Sakura stated, running her hands over and around Naruto's back. "His chakra and muscles are still disrupted by the electricity. His wound may be healed up on the back, but the exit wound is still open. The burns and excessive use of chakra aren't helping much…"

Naruto retched a bit and spat out more blood, giving inclination that he was still in no condition for combat. Hinata nodded her head before looking back up at their opponent.

"I'll hold him off then…"

"No… wait," Naruto spoke up, looking up at his teammates. "Listen… we can't be taking him on head to head much longer. The longer this goes on, the stronger he gets! If that shockwave was one of his pinnacle techniques, then I'd hate to see what's coming up next!"

Sakura furrowed her brow, and glared up at the figure standing high above.

"Then… what should we do?"

"Just give me a second… I'll figure something out…"

However, they didn't have more then a second, when the Dark Naruto above moved into a new series of hand seals one after the other, before finishing with his palms locked together behind him in a Dragon seal.

"_**Water Release…"**_

"Not good!" Naruto shouted.

"His c-chakra is sky rocketing!" Hinata yelled, backing up defensively. At that moment, Naruto, quick as ever, grabbed both Sakura in a lock and then Hinata by the back of her jacket.

"…_**Great Shark Missile Technique!"**_

All of a sudden, pillars of water shot up and around the silhouette of a shinobi, as if a giant wave of water was gathering in the canopy above. Sucking all of the nutrients and water out of the air and trees, the phantom utilized all of the moisture it could, and compressed it into a powerful technique, even larger then what it is supposed to be. A split second later, the wall of water forming behind and around the dark ninja, formed into that of a humungous shark, mouth agape with serrated teeth as it roared straight down towards the trio far below. In a matter of seconds, the wave of water and the giant shark were upon them, and Naruto had but a second to make his move.

Using the shadows to blend, Naruto, Hinata and Sakura suddenly vanished into thin air, as the giant shark collided with the ground and exploded with the force of a thousand paper bombs going off. The blast shot a pillar of water straight up to the ceiling of the canopy, with the Dark Naruto watching closely from above as his technique carved a new crater at the foot of the trees. Moments later, the shockwaves and blasts of water ended, and the water settled into a small pond at ground zero.

A moment later, Naruto, Sakura and Hinata tumbled out of the shadows of the tree across from Dark Naruto, with all three of them collapsing a top of the large branch.

Panting heavily, Naruto rolled over onto his back and looked up, with Sakura and Hinata also feeling a bit queasy from the sudden jump. The two of them looked down at Naruto as he started chuckling, both in pain and in delight.

"W-What… what the heck did you just do?" Sakura asked incredulously.

"Did you like it?" Naruto replied, glancing up at his friends, a grin on his face. "It was a new kind of teleport. It requires the user to blend completely in with the light or shadows…" He held up his coat by the scruff. "Why do you think I wore this?"

Sakura grinned, but then refocused attention on their opponent across the way, who was now looking kind of impatient by the glare he was giving them.

"But how do we deal with that one?"

"I have an idea…" Naruto sat up. "We just have to wait for the next opportune moment…"

Of course, true his consistent pattern of attacks, Dark Naruto was relentless in his next one. Forming a single ram seal, he then slapped his hand against the side of the tree trunk of the branch he was standing on, digging his syringes into the wood and injecting a form of fluid into it. Using this to aid him in performing his next technique, Dark Naruto then took aim at his opponents across the way and formed one, chakra gathering hand seal, while his other hand took control.

"_**Wood Release: Great Forest Technique!" **_the Dark Naruto hissed. Naruto caught onto this and his eyes widened in shock.

"Shit! Wood too?"

Suddenly, Dark Naruto stuck his free hand out, but instead of having his hand transform into wood at the cellular level, the tree next to him sprouted a hand to mirror his, and in a matter of seconds, a huge stump followed by an onslaught of branches grew out and shot towards the trio of Genin. The branches forked out, and spread out even more before charging down the tree to incase them and most likely, crush them. Naruto, Sakura and Hinata responded in kind, all three of them leaping out of the way in all different directions to avoid being impaled simultaneously.

However, because they scattered, it meant that Dark Naruto could focus on only one of them. He went after Sakura. Throwing his free, clawed hand forward, he extended all of his fingers, and unexpectedly fired his entire forearm. It rocketed through the air, metal threads still connecting it to its host as it honed in on its pink haired target. It curved through the air and hooked up at her, the hidden blade from its gauntlet drawn.

Sakura caught it out of the corner of her eye as she sailed through the air when she dodged to avoid the wood attack, and turned her attention to it. She sent a roundhouse kick through the air and kicked out at the hand, knocking it away. It swiftly retracted back into Dark Naruto's arm, who was now flying through the air straight at her, another katana drawn.

The pink haired kunoichi reacted quickly to the shinobi flying at her, reaching back into her pouch and drawing a cluster of shuriken between her fingers. She threw them at her opponent, the barrage of stars battering the phantom one after the other, but ultimately being deflected by his superior armor.

Sakura barely had enough time to flip through the air to avoid being struck down, which effectively saved her as Dark Naruto flew towards the tree on the far side. Landing against its side, he looked up to where his target had gone, spotting the kunoichi landing against the side of another tree as far away from his as possible.

Standing up straight, Dark Naruto held his syringe lined hand towards the tree and, concentrating chakra around the point, quickly clenched it into his fist. Sakura felt a ripple of chakra echo out from her feet, which prompted her to quickly move from that very spot.

She barely made it when a massive explosion suddenly ripped apart the tree she was standing on, fire bellowing out everywhere. She threw herself at a nearby branch and clung on for dear life, her skin singed but not badly burnt as she watched the debris, splinters and remains of the tree trunk fall to the ground far below. However, it wasn't over yet.

Throwing out his other, clawed hand, Dark Naruto launched a series of chakra threads for the falling debris, and caught them in a web of chakra lines. Controlling them like a puppet, the chunks of wood came back together, and in a fashion derivative of telekinesis, the branches and pieces of the tree trunk formed in a giant puppet. It wasn't hell structured, but it held its place where it levitated.

Pulling it over Dark Naruto crashed it against the tree, Sakura nearly falling from the branch when it collided and shook the very foundations of the tree. The puppet began clawing its way over to her, quickly and unhindered by the fact that it was slowly falling apart.

Just as it was upon her like a spider on a fly, Hinata suddenly came to her aid and, taking careful aim with her hands, began slashing her palms through the air one after the other.

Chakra needles shot through the air one after the other. Thanks to her Byakugan, it allowed her to systematically slice the elephant sized puppet apart, as well as cut the chakra threads holding it together. Eventually, just as it was coming at them with a loose punch meant to crush her, its arm fell to pieces. Seconds later, the behemoth collapsed and descended in pieces to the forest floor. Hinata huffed from the effort before coming to help pull Sakura back up.

"Nice shooting, Hinata," Sakura exclaimed, patting her friend on the shoulder.

"I-It's okay… Sakura…" the Hyuuga replied.

Once again, the pair refocused attention on the Dark Naruto across the way, who had relinquished his grip on manipulating the forest debris to his advantage.

Eventually figuring that being a puppeteer to the environment wasn't going to affect the outcome of the battle in any way, the phantom then opted for his next move. Gripping the side of his mask, Dark Naruto glared fiercely up towards Sakura and Hinata. Beneath the shadows of the eyehole, the pair of kunoichi was unable to witness the Sharingan suddenly morph into its next stage.

The tomoes formed a three pronged shuriken beneath the mask, indicating that it had reached the Mangekyo Sharingan state. As blood dripped out of the newly formed Sharingan, the shadow of Naruto then fired off its next technique at them.

"_**AMATERASU!"**_

Black flames suddenly streamed through the air and whipped towards Sakura and Hinata. The pair of them jumped out of the way just in time to avoid the gushing black fire, which scored the side of the tree and continued to do so as it continued pouring out.

Eventually Dark Naruto ceased, and turned to lock onto them once again. Keeping his hand against the side of his mask, he concentrated chakra around his eye again. As more blood continued to pour out, the Mangekyo Sharingan then morphed again, transforming into a more elaborate, three pronged shuriken, with its curves becoming sharper and more prominent.

Landing a top of another branch, Hinata drew a cluster of Shuriken and threw it in the Dark Naruto's direction. When it looked as if they would hit, the phantom's body suddenly disappeared when it got sucked into a black hole, before reappearing on a branch much higher up. When it did, it then relocked onto Hinata's position, and fired another ripple of chakra from its eye in her direction. The Hyuuga leapt away in time as the tree branch she was standing on was ripped from its host and sucked into another dimension.

As Dark Naruto focused attention on attacking Hinata, it didn't notice Sakura sprinting around the entire circumference of the formation of trees around the sacred grounds in the opposite direction in which Hinata was going. Sprinting a full pace, she cuffed one of her brass knuckles in her right hand and, pumping chakra into it, came right down upon the phantom Naruto from above. The attacker had no idea of the attack coming at him till he felt a massive blow shake his head as he was whammed across the face and sent flying off of the branch.

"SHANNARO!" Sakura roared as her fist hit a home run for her.

The body of Dark Naruto flew as if it were boneless through the air, whipping round in circles in an almost inhuman manner, before crashing into a tree across the way and falling from it right after impact.

"HIT HIM NOW, HINATA!" Naruto shouted, crouched on the ground far below, holding his right hand out and gathering chakra in it.

Hinata did as told, and leaping from her branch, formed a stance in mid-flight as she flew straight down towards the descending phantom.

The familiar stance of her family could be seen in her pose, and the moment she reached her target, began her assault with a swift palm strike.

"Eight Trigrams: Thirty Two Palms!" she shouted.

Her palm strike connected heavily, swiftly followed by two, then four, then eight, then sixteen and so on. Hinata's palm strikes came in like rain, battering Dark Naruto's body with thirty two painful hits, blocking off his chakra network. Within seconds, the Hyuuga ended her attack, spinning round through the air and bringing both hands down in a finishing hit. The loud crack as bones broke could be heard throughout the forest as Dark Naruto's body was sent falling at a higher velocity.

Racing both Hinata and her opponent down to ground level, Sakura hit level zero first and, throwing herself across the area, flew straight towards Dark Naruto's body as it fell towards her after meeting Hinata's assault face to face. Carefully timing herself and taking aim, Sakura thrust a finishing punch straight across her target's face, effectively shattering the mask with the blow and sending the phantom on a one way trip towards the other side of the battlefield.

It was here Naruto was waiting with the final attack…

Rasengan spinning in hand, the blonde stepped forward, and met the Dark Naruto's front with his own. He threw his right hand forward, blue orb of energy whipping through the air as it struck its target full on.

"RASENGAN!" he roared, driving home his last attack.

Seconds after impact, as the hurricane force winds whipped around them, Dark Naruto's body was flung away with the force of a tornado, as the blonde's attack exploded with such force it split the ground on its execution. In a flash of light, the phantom Naruto was flung towards the trees on the opposite side of the field, and with a loud shockwave as his body broke the sound barrier, collided with the trees and shattered them.

Out of the smoke and dust to follow, Naruto collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, and looked up in time to see his two teammates looking towards the impact zone where Dark Naruto unintentionally lodged himself in after its flight. The masked phantom was sitting in the side of the tree limply, body mangled and unresponsive.

The ordeal was finally over…

Chakra almost gone, Naruto was helped to his feet by Hinata, who helped limp carry him over to where Dark Naruto sat in the tree. The three of them looked the body over, getting a better look at its face and the state the mangled corpse was in.

The face of Dark Naruto behind the mask held a multitude of scars. There were none from the battle that just transpired, but there were crisscrosses of permanent scars all over his right side, with metal stitches holding the whole face together. There was also a Sharingan still blazing in the right eye, and the left one with its Rinnegan still intact.

Sakura shook her head at the sight. "I still… can't believe it…"

"That my Dark Side became such a monster," Naruto shrugged. "I can't believe it either…"

"With the assortment of weapons he had… he should have creamed us…"

"It was mostly an illusion," Naruto replied, taking in a deep breath of air and looking his dead counterpart over. "Same strength as me, a little bit slower… but uses a whole bunch of doejutsu and weapons as handicap to increase his fighting prowess. Since it was mostly composed of machine by the looks of it… it didn't move very well. Regardless…on my own…I wouldn't have stood a chance…"

"B-But…" Hinata began, looking at both Naruto and her fellow kunoichi. "W-What did this test mean? What was the point to it?"

Naruto frowned, looking down at the ground in careful thought and consideration.

"I think… this battle was designed to _really_ test our bonds," Naruto said, looking up at the others. "Mia wanted us to come here… and face something that we didn't expect… something we feared the most… and something that we might have to face in the future." The blonde looked between Hinata and Sakura as he continued to formulate his answer. "She wanted to see if we could not only work together and test our will to protect each other… but force us to make the most impossible decision…" Naruto smirked and nodded towards his dark counterpart. "In reality… _**that**_ abomination is _**me**_, whether it is good or bad, it doesn't matter. It tested _**me**_ to see if I could _really_ face myself, and it tested _you_ two, to see whether or not you will be able to stop _me_… if I was to ever or even fall from myself… from who I am now…"

Sakura and Hinata saw what their teammate had come to, and in unison, the two of them nodded in agreement.

Deciding to let the whole ordeal go, yet take with them what they had learned and experienced from tonight, Sakura and Hinata, together, helped walk Naruto out of this chamber of trees, and back into the Forest of Death. They left the battlefield behind, the weapons used and the body in its place to rot…

* * *

_**Early Morning…**_

_**Outside of Training Ground 44…**_

Mia smiled when she saw the three Genin return, stepping out of the shadows of the forest, and walk shoulder to shoulder towards the fence. Standing up from where she was sitting, under the shallow light of the sun rising over the horizon, the red headed Sage raised a hand and ripped open the fence as she had done before, and allowed Naruto, Sakura and Hinata to limp back through, before closing it up behind them.

"_They made it…" _she smiled, nodding when the whole battered team came up to her. Of course, they couldn't admit that they looked worse, but they all felt like shit at the same time.

"Had fun?" Mia asked.

"Screw you," were the first words to fly out of Sakura's lips. The Sage of Six Paths grinned happily and gave her the thumbs up.

"Yosh! That's the spirit!"

"In spite of the fact that you threw us into that hell…" Naruto began with a rather disgruntled look on his face; he then smiled up at his friend, and nodded his head at her. "I have to admit… it was… _interesting_…"

"Interesting you say?" the Sage exclaimed. She smirked at them and, holding her free hand over their heads, closed her eyes and began sensing each one of them individually. The three battered, bruised, burnt, and thoroughly exhausted Genin looked at her curiously as she went over them. A smile replaced her frown and she opened her eyes, looking down at them with the most certain look she has ever had. "You guys have been though a lot. But… you passed your trial… magnificently!"

She then took her staff, and tapped each one of them on their shoulders.

"You three… are good together, as both a team, and… you know…" Mia grinned and shrugged suggestively. "It may be considered bigamy, but you three are perfect for each other!"

All three of them sweat dropped, before all of them effectively collapsed to the ground, groaning in distress and mock anguish. It was right after that they all fell over onto their backs and began staring up towards the sky. Mia laughed and crouched down in front of them, looking them in the faces to see if they were okay. However, she got quite a surprise when she found that all three of them had fallen asleep. Or… well… passed out…

The red head smiled and let them lie, planning to sit with them to make sure they were okay…

Of course, the three Genin, after everything they had been through that night, fell asleep with smiles on all their faces.

They were happy to be together…

_**TO BE CONTINUED**_

_**

* * *

**_

**Naruto's Techniques:**

_Soaring Dragon Strike _(Naruto taijutsu combination)

_Shadow Clone Technique_

_Naruto Rengan (Naruto Uzumaki Barrage)_

_Rasengan_

_Rasen-Rengan _(primitive version)

_Wind Release: Gale Palm_

_Wind Release: Rising Dragon_

_Wind Release: Dragon versus Tiger_

_Flash Step/Teleport_

_Flying Thunder God Technique_

_Hiding like a Mole Technique_

_Stealth _(teleportation through use of shadows or light)

**Sakura's Techniques:**

_Mystical Palm Technique (Healing Technique)_

_Cherry Blossom Impact_

_Cherry Blossom Clone_

_Maiden Shockwave_

_Painful Sky Leg (Sakura Axe Kick)_

_Ninja Art: Blanket Fire Storm _(genjutsu-ninjutsu combination)

_Chakra Scalpel_

**Hinata's Techniques:**

_Gentle Fist_

_Wind Dance (Improved Gentle Fist)_

_Eight Trigrams – Thirty Two Palms_

_Rotation _(Eight Trigrams Palms Heavenly Spin)

_Chakra Needle Technique_

_

* * *

_

**_Author's Note: _**

You can expect that after this ordeal, Naruto, Sakura and Hinata will change even more. If you suspect that, then you are correct. Naruto of course will lighten up even more, what with the weight lifted off of his shoulders, and start bonding with the other girls more. I wanted to have Sakura and Hinata to have a bigger part in this chapter, so that Naruto didn't hog all of the glory. It's more for character development and stuff, and equal share in battles, with Naruto being beaten for once and having Sakura and Hinata fight off a force more powerful then both of them.

The Dark Naruto, I believe, didn't play as big a part in canon then I would have liked. When they introduced him, it made me think that Naruto would have made an awesome villain in the series, way better then Sasuke or Madara. My Naruto doesn't mope about like Sasuke, and is nowhere near as Emo as Sasuke in this story, since Naruto makes an effort to make friends and associates a lot with the others. (it was just his other side that kept popping up that made him feel and look cold). The real emo side of him or whatever was left of it appeared in the manifestation of Dark Naruto, combined with all his unhealed battlescars, and weapons he stole from friends and enemies, all put together around a bottle of hatred, malice and cold, calculative ruthlessness. After defeating him, Naruto in this story will become a bit more like the one in canon, but still be skilled and strong, like he is supposed to be.


	29. The Chunin Exams Begin

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_The Chunin Exams Begin_

_**Midday – Konohagakure Hospital, West Wing**_

_**Two days after the Forest of Death battle…**_

Everything suddenly went quiet following the events of the Forest of Death. Save for the fact that Naruto, Sakura and Hinata were sent to the hospital to be treated for their wounds while leaving the house all to Zabuza and the others, which didn't sit quite well with Naruto as he lay in bed, wrapped in bandages and drinking a glass of milk through a straw. He sat in his bed sulking as the nurse assigned to him and his team checked his temperature, before being left alone with his fellow teammates resting in the beds next to him, also wrapped up in bandages.

"How are the burns, Sakura-chan…? Hinata-chan?" he asked them.

Sakura shrugged. "Can't really complain?"

"M-Most pleasant," Hinata replied, taking a sip from her range juice before smiling over at Naruto. "H-How is your chest, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto patted himself around his left pectoral where he had the four-iron of a katana driven through him about a day ago. Although he had to admit that the blow through the chest was small and the wound started healing itself instantly afterwards thanks to the fox's chakra, it didn't help him much that he had to fight for his life immediately afterwards, which damaged his body even more. Not to mention the lightning current that was poured into the sword and then into him didn't help at all. But now that he was able to rest, his body would be fully recovered at the same time as his teammates would be out of their bandages.

"Well… my chest wound is good, but the Kyuubi is taking its sweet time healing my burns," he exclaimed, before grinning over at his friends. "My skin is still a little tender…"

"Wait… the Kyuubi helps your body heal faster?" Sakura asked curiously, lowering the magazine she was reading about ninja tools concerning brass knuckles and their applications. "I gotta say, for a demon of hatred and anger, it does provide your body with some benefits…"

"Sure hell it does," Naruto replied, smirking and pumping his fist in the air, but winced when his skin under his bandages zapped pain down his shoulders when he moved them too much. "Ow… I feel like I have sunburn. Anyhow… the Kyuubi protects me from a lot of stuff, like healing me almost instantly from minor wounds, all the way through to keeping me alive from poisons that would normally kill ten men…"

"That's pretty cool," Sakura said with a half-smile. "You're pretty lucky to have that ability…"

"Yeah…" Naruto replied with a smile as well. "Perhaps one of the only good things it gives me…"

Sakura smiled and lay back, discarding her magazine to the side and groaning out in boredom. "Damn… another couple of days in here… it's going to be boring as hell…"

"Rest and relaxation is good for the body after exercise Sakura-chan…" Hinata stated, nodding her head to her. "W-We should enjoy ourselves…"

"I guess," Sakura folded her arms, but winced when her own burns pinched at her. "Should have brought a pack of cards though… I'm so tense…"

"A massage then?" Naruto asked, winking at his teammate. "Your arms and legs got most of the burns, but your shoulders are fine. What do you say?"

The pink haired kunoichi's face seemed to light up instantly in delight at that offering, whereas Hinata looked a tad bit jealous.

"Okay!"

A minute later, Sakura was lying flat on her front getting a nice chakra massage from Naruto. The blonde hummed a tune as he rubbed and caressed her around her shoulder blades and the muscles of her upper body, before moving down to engage the middle area. He felt ever little tense and tremor, and not to mention the flawless skin exposed to him. The girl had her shirt taken off and was enjoying a nice bare-back rub, much to both of their delight.

"Ooooh…yeah…" Sakura sighed, an expression of pure bliss written on her face. "That's the stuff…"

Naruto enjoyed himself as much as Sakura enjoyed it. It was only when he noticed the look of disappointment on Hinata's face that he paused for a moment. The girl looked at him with her own Hyuuga version of the 'puppy-dog' look, an irresistible look that had the ability to turn any man's 'no' into a 'yes'. This made the young male Genin crumble like a block of soil.

A second later, Hinata was also lying on her front, blushing like mad as she got a full shoulder and back work over from a Naruto clone. Both Narutos grinned at each other as they worked over their female teammates, and got the reward of some very pleasant comments and sounds.

However, the party would soon come to a grinding halt when a throat being cleared at the doorway caught their attention.

All four of them, including the clone-Naruto, looked towards the doorway to the hospital room to see Anko, Ryoko and the Third Hokage standing there, watching them. While the Third remained passive at the sight, Anko and Ryoko looked a little bit too enthusiastic by the sight of the blonde boy, wearing nothing but his hospital gown giving Sakura and Hinata a back rub.

"Whoa… it's getting a little R-Rated in here," Anko commented, licking her lips. "Anko, likey…"

"It's soft-core, Anko-baka, calm down," Ryoko exclaimed nudging her in the side, while holding a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolate. "We've only moved into the massage scene. Give it a few minutes and it'll get better."

"Anko-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed, while Hinata on the bed to her left from where she lay hid her face in embarrassment. Naruto just plain ignored them and continued doing what he was doing.

"Hey, brats!" Anko said, striding forward with her hands in her pockets. Rubbing the ridge under her nose with her finger, she grinned at them all individually. "Heh… just a couple of days ago I came around looking for my little runts to pick on for the day. When I couldn't find any of you… I eventually learned from Mia that you guys were sent to the hospital due to the training she gave you. I figured maybe I should wait a bit after that before visiting you guys, thought about getting you three presents but… hey… it's just the kind of sensei I am…" She pulled out of her pockets three plushies she made herself, all three of the dolls designed to look like her three students, but frighteningly enough, looked more like voodoo dolls. She tossed them onto each of their beds. "Hope you get better soon. Cause next week is going to be fun!" she joyfully exclaimed.

"Wow… uhh… thanks," Sakura said; looking at the ragdoll she was given with slight distain, but still with a smile visible on her face. Hinata picked hers up rather enthusiastically and looked down at the plushy version of herself with a XD look on her face. Naruto swore he could see hearts floating around his girlfriend's head. Sakura then looked back up at their teacher. "Uhh… what do you mean… next week?"

"More training, Anko-sensei?" Naruto asked, interested. "Could use some more after what we went through…"

Ryoko shook her head as she walked forward, placing the bouquet of flowers on Naruto's empty bed in-between Sakura and Hinata's before, glancing over at him with a grin, making sure she was out of ear shot.

"Hey… can I get one too?" she asked in whisper. Naruto looked at her strangely for a moment, then grinned and winked at her.

"Not exactly… training," Sarutobi began, taking the stage as Anko smiled in her characteristic way in the background. "It has recently been brought to my attention that the three of you have shown extreme talent and potential, as well as remarkable capabilities as shinobi of Konohagakure, on and off the field. The capacity, at which the members of your team work together and in conjuncture with other teams, has shown to be a step up above other recently graduated Genin."

"Wow… praise from Caesar," Naruto exclaimed, earning a giggle from Sakura and Hinata, with Hinata playfully hugging her plushy. Ryoko also chuckled as she stood on the sidelines, arms folded and looking particularly proud of the three of them.

Hiruzen simply pushed that little joke aside and continued on with what he was saying. "Hence, after due consideration and debate amongst the Jonin senseis and your Academy teachers, I have decided to allow you three to participate in the Chunin Exams starting next week."

It was at this news all three of the Genins faces lit up, and Anko became overwhelmed by their reactions in her own, proud way, which sprouted a huge grin on her face.

"Ah-ha! Now there's my team!" she exclaimed, stepping forward and pulling her hands out of her pockets. With her right hand, she withdrew three red envelops, all of them individual passes and registration forms for each of her students. "I knew you guys were looking forward to more of my _little_ challenges. But well… after recent events that have been brought to my attention, I can safely say you three are prepared enough for this gig. Definitely the first stages should be a piece of cake for you… and maybe even the second ones…""

She handed each of them their designated forms and watched as they opened them and read through them. The Third had to smile to himself as he saw the looks on their faces, and the excitement gleaming in their eyes.

"_Ahh… to be young," _he thought, smiling. _"I remember when I was a Genin and had to go through the Exams myself. It was tough… but exhilarating at the same time…"_

"So… the exams are next week then?" Naruto exclaimed, grinning up at his sensei from where he sat next to Sakura. "Should be enough time for us to get up to speed; health wise of course."

"There's more, gaki," Ryoko stated, thumping her chest while smirking widely. "I'm proctoring the Third Stage of the exams, if enough of you make it that far…"

"And I'll be holding my end up in the Second Stage," Anko exclaimed, before giving her team a knowing wink. "_The Forest of Death_…"

"Oh great…" Sakura groaned, with Naruto following suit. "Not that again…"

"Are you going to be hunting all of us down individually and if captured you will torture us or something?" Naruto asked in dread, knowing full well what his sensei's capabilities were. He knew he could take her in a sense of being able to fight one on one with her without any weapons for a long period of time. Of course, the eventual odds stacked against him would make an appearance and he would most likely go down in agony, but he would not go down without a fight. "Last time that happened…"

"Nah… although… that would be fun," Anko replied, wagging her eyebrows. "Maybe next time…"

Both the active members of Team 7 groaned, whereas Hinata whimpered in discomfort to her instructor's words.

Anko pulled up a chair and sat next to Hinata and clone-Naruto, as he was still giving the Hyuuga a god go over on her back. She had to admit, she was a bit envious of the purple haired Genin.

"Remember kids… the Chunin Exams are nothing you've ever faced or experienced before in your life," Anko stated. "It's no game… it's a _test_. It tests your mind, your body, and your team. It will push you to your breaking points, and let you get a taste of what the world really is like out there."

"W-We'll decide that for ourselves…" Hinata stated, smiling. Naruto grinned at her comment.

"When we take the test and win it," he continued in her stead. Anko grinned at them.

"That's the spirit…"

The Third Hokage smiled and shook his head at the team's antics. He turned on heel and began to leave.

"There are great trials ahead you three. Just remember… that you aren't the only Genin Team participating in these Exams," he informed them, reaching the door and pulling out his pipe from his pocket. "Your comrades from your village will also be joining you, as well as other Genin from foreign nations, who will be doing all in their power to prove themselves for the sake of themselves, their own comrades, and their villages. Remember to distinguish yourselves as Konoha Shinobi; with dignity and respect, staying true to the Will of Fire. It is the will of all the past Hokages…" he turned around, smiling still. "I expect you all to do your best…"

He trailed off when he unexpectedly saw that the unoccupied beds have now been turned into tables at some random massage parlor where, not only were Sakura and Hinata getting a massage, but also a topless Anko and Ryoko. The entire group was too caught up to really notice Hiruzen Sarutobi speaking, and hardly even cared. Naruto and his clones were too busy anyway.

Anko sighed and looked over at Ryoko. "Heaven…"

"Yeah…" Ryoko exclaimed back, grinning. "You know gaki… you should start your own business when you retire…"

"Or… you know… start one now. Open up a parlor in your free time…" Sakura stated.

"I think I'll do that," Naruto replied, smirking.

Hiruzen stared for a moment, and then walked out of the room when he realized nobody was paying attention to him anymore. He sighed and began filling his pipe as he left the hospital. "I've been Hokage too long… no more respect from this generation…" he mumbled, shoving his pipe in his mouth and smirking as old memories came bubbling to the surface. "Reminds me of the time how I treated Hashirama Senju when he was getting old…"

* * *

_**During the week…**_

As Naruto, Sakura and Hinata continued to recover from their injuries, everybody else was using up all of the time they were given in between the present and the Chunin Exams to get both training in and a good breather. Whatever came their way, the Rookie Nine seized it as an opportunity to train, rest, and learn. Of course, for everybody else outside of the Genin, it was a totally different story.

While they were resting in the hospital, Naruto, Sakura and Hinata did everything they could to use the time they had wisely. While Hinata meditated and focused on controlling her chakra, much like Sakura, Naruto would instead be doing pushups and alike on _his_ bed. Grabbing hold of the bed railing, he would lift himself so that he was hand standing on it, and did pushups that way… one handed. He wanted to increase his strength and chakra capacity before the big day.

When he was _**not**_ exercising, he was studying alongside Sakura, who knew a heck of a lot more about strategy and mathematics then he did. Even he had to admit he had his limits.

"So umm… you've already explained to me the differences between derivatives and integrals… but…" He gave the diagrams in his lap a quick go over with his pencil. Currently, he was sitting on Sakura's bed with a butt load of scrolls and books, with his pink haired teammate sitting next to him, helping him out with the more difficult questions. Hinata was meditating on the side on her bed; the plushy of Naruto nestled in her lap.

Naruto cleared his throat at looked up at her, a playful grin on his face. "What's the difference between addition and subtraction?"

What he got was a chakra powered slap to the back.

The stinging from his still tender skin shot through him like lightning, with the boy letting out a cry of sheer agony, before beginning to roll around on the bed, with Sakura giving him an evil grin.

"Lesson Number One: Mind over Matter," Sakura replied, checking her fingernails casually. "The very first thing Anko-sensei said to our team before sending snakes after us…Naruto…-_kun_…" She said the last bit in a teasing voice, but Naruto was too busy writhing in pain to really hear what she had to say.

While things were pretty eventful for Team 7 up in the hospital, Anko was left to take care of Naruto's house while he was away. And by take care of it, as in crash on the couch and leave the lounge room in a big stinking mess. The first night here practically turned into an all night rave as Zabuza, Ryoko, Anko and a visiting Jiraiya played poker, and held drinking games with alcohol taken from Naruto's storage basement. It was after the one night that the entire main living room of the big house ended up looking like a scene from MASH after a party. It was a real mess.

Mia was outside most of the time in the main garden, chasing butterflies like a kitten and sleeping under a tree, while Isaribi and Little Haru played numerous games of how to catch the red haired Sage. It turned into a rather fun game where the playful pair would play hide-and-try-to-catch-Mia-with-a-giant-net day in and day out while she slept. The woman had the habit of disappearing and reappearing here and there, so it became a real test of patience and stealth, even though neither of them were shinobi.

Haku on the other hand took to practicing his ninjutsu and Kekkai Genkai, trying to find way to improve it.

Aside from visiting the hospitalized Team 7 every now again, it was pretty much routine for all of them.

Team 8 with Sasuke, Kiba and Shino was a little bit different for them. The week leading up to the exams was filled with much playing around and walking. Sasuke took it upon himself to brooding as usual, and went around the village looking for no trouble _**or**_ trouble, whichever one came first to him, and shrugged it off. Kiba on the other hand, unlike his two quiet teammates, used his time to train with his family. His older sister certainly helped him out with that, giving the delinquent boy a better idea of the different types of techniques that both he and his companion Akamaru could use in conjunction with their Clan's trademark beast-derivative-taijutsu styles. The central compound of the Inuzuka clan was particularly lively, when Kiba challenged his sister Hana, but got pretty beaten down in the end.

"Come on, little bro," Hana exclaimed, taking a stance and waiting for her brother to get back to his feet. His clothes were pretty torn up, after tackling her on head to head for the past twenty minutes. It had been quite brutal. "If you want to become a Chunin, then you have to be able to match one. So far… you're making quite a fool of yourself…"

Kiba growled and wiped the blood from his chin. "Don't count me out yet, sis! I'm just getting started!" With a rather animalistic roar, he charged his sister again, hands held out at his sides as he attempted to throw his opponent off by making a zigzag motion, looking for a weak spot.

Meanwhile, Akamaru and Hana's companions, the Three Haimaru Brothers, sat on the sidelines and watched as Kiba lashed out at his sister swiftly, only to have his arm grabbed by her hand and receive two kicks to the face before eventually being kneed in the stomach and winded. The boy hunched over gripping his gut as Hana smiled down at him.

"Don't leave your guard open… and keep attacking even after you're staggered," she said, kneeling down in front of him. She lifted his head up to hers and smirked. "And don't let your face be left unguarded… otherwise…" She raised a finger and flicked him in the nose… hard. The boy fell flat over onto his back, hitting the ground with a loud 'oof' on impact. "You'll be knocked flat on your butt. You may not have a tail, but your nose is important…"

Shino was more relaxed then the others on his team. Instead of walking around or training, he stood around, thinking, and communing with the vast amounts of bug life of the outside world. At some points in the following week, he even paid Naruto and the others a visit, and would sit with them and talk. They appreciated his company, and wished him the best of luck in the exams. Eventually, the boy decided to just go stand under his usual tree for the rest to the day, nodding occasionally to the people passing him by.

Yup. It was a seemingly boring and pointless life…

Asuma, in the time leading up to the exams, was attempting to give his team a _rigorous_ training regime, something different for a chance, helping them to improve their techniques as a group, while getting them to plow through as many D-Rank missions in a day as quickly as possible. He saw that they had great potential in collaboration techniques, and taught them all to better utilize their skills to trap, catch, attack, defend and kill. However, he also tried to work with them individually, but found that a bit more taxing, as Shikamaru would, at more then one point in the day, fall asleep standing up, Choji was not much of a fan for training too hard, and Ino didn't like training at all. But he did manage to get to them when he started using their favorite hobbies, interests and dreads against them.

He got Shikamaru to move by simply getting him to try and make grabs at pillows with his Shadow Possession Technique, which turned into quite a fun day when Asuma played keep away with them and got Shikamaru to stretch further and further, and work hard to get them. He also kept him awake by tossing sneezing powder on his face whenever he dozed off. He got Choji to water walk with a stack of rocks on his back while placing a bag of chips up river as his prize. This definitely got the Akimichi moving. And finally, he got Ino moving when he threatened to cut her hair off if she slacked off, which she cursed at him for even suggesting to do so.

Routinely he would spar with Ino and Choji at once, but Shikamaru wasn't in the mood for it at all.

The latest test had the given two members of Team 10 sparring, with Asuma perched up on a tree smirking while smoking his favorite brand. Kurenai had joined him earlier that day, and both of them were currently enjoying the show of Ino attempting to bring down Choji, who was the stronger of the two.

"Who's your role model?" Kurenai asked, glancing at her boyfriend, missing out on a grapple that Choji successfully used to toss Ino back onto the ground.

"Excuse me?" Asuma glanced over at her.

"Who's your role model?" Kurenai asked, shrugging. "I've never seen your team work this hard before. You must be getting them with some serious, sadistic stuff to get them to move as much as they are…"

"Well… yeah," Asuma shrugged and looked away, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"What did you use? Bees? Wasps? Spiders?" A rather devious grin crossed her face. "Threatened to have them wear Gai's uniform?"

Asuma looked at her strangely for a moment, but then snorted when he actually pictured the sight of his students all dressed up like the most energetic ninja in the entire village.

"I… might have picked up something from someone I may have bumped into down the road from the flower shop…" he stated, rubbing his nose. "But not Gai… that would just be too scary and mean…"

"Who then?" Kurenai pressured him into answering. Asuma cleared his throat and looked away, avoiding eye contact for this one, brief answer.

"Anko…"

"Ha! I knew it!" Kurenai replied, nudging him in the side. "Good on you. You've finally started disciplining them on a satisfactory level. I'm proud of you!"

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Of course!" Kurenai exclaimed, folding her arms. "If I had a team, I would work them to the bone to get the Academy snuff out of the way, and move into the C-Rank stuff as fast as possible. It's something you sometimes have to do as an instructor, as what I was taught. I may still be a young Jonin, but I know what I have to do to get my team in shape and ready for the next mission."

"Hmm…" Asuma thought this through for a moment, looking back down at the spar. Ino was giving Choji a work out himself, throwing various combinations at him, which he took or blocked respectively. Eventually, they got each other in a lock, and attempted to throw the other over. "Instead of just getting them to rely on their brains and teamwork, I may need to coach them a little bit more in strengthening themselves. Surely, Ino needs to eat more. Dieting isn't good when you're a shinobi."

"I agree," Kurenai nodded her head.

"Not to mention Shikamaru who is dreaming away over there," Asuma said, nodding towards a large boulder under a tree, where the Nara boy was snoozing away quietly, not being a bother and no one bothering him in return, save for a butterfly landing on his nose. "He seriously needs to shape up a little bit more. I swear his family is all the same. I found his dad asleep at the table back in the Jonin lounge… eyes open and everything. I was scared for a moment; I thought he was suffering a stroke…"

Kurenai giggled and reached into her pocket, pulling out a lollypop.

"Sounds like they need some training from Gai after all…" Kurenai suggested.

It was then, Asuma had an idea click inside of his head, and he grinned over at his girlfriend. Sucking on her little treat, she looked up at the Jonin, puzzled.

"What?"

"I think I have someone better in mind…"

_**A few minutes later…**_

"COME ON! ONE MORE YOU LOUSY TURDS!" Zabuza shouted, watching as Ino, Shikamaru and Choji did pushups… if you could call them pushups. Ino was trying to do them, but her arms shook with every attempted one, Choji was struggling even more, and Shikamaru could barely do anymore. They were in the hundreds when it came to counting anyway, and they were all dead. "ONE MORE! GIVE ME ONE MORE!"

"Geez… no need to yell," Ino muttered. Unfortunately, Zabuza heard this and pushed his foot down on her back, pushing her down. "Aye! What the hell?"

"You want to be smart with me, blondie?" Zabuza asked, leaning over and glaring hard down at her. "Just for that bleach bucket, give me another _**hundred**_ push ups!"

Ino tried not to complain anymore and started again, slowly but surely, with Zabuza's foot still resting on her upper back.

"Faster! Harder! No… lower, tomato head!" Zabuza shouted at Choji, watching him cheat out on doing a proper push up. He corrected himself out of fear, much to his dismay. Zabuza nodded. "Better! Hey! Pineapple! You're going too low!" Zabuza shouted at Shikamaru, finding him lying flat out on the grass next to him. Taking his foot off of Ino, he walked around and began nudging them boy with his foot. "Come on! I've seen corpses do better pushups then you three! HEY!" he shouted, standing in front of all three of them, arms folded as he glared down at them. "Just for the heck of it, let's do two-hundred more pushups! And while you do them, I want to hear a jolly old sea shanty!"

All three of them stopped in mid pushup.

"_**Huh?" **_the whole of Team 10 unintelligently replied.

"I'll start!" Zabuza began, clearing his throat. "_Row, row, row yer boat, gently down the stream…"_

"Uhhh…" Choji looked over at his teammates, who were also confused. They started doing pushups and together, began singing.

"_**Row, Row, Row Your Boat, gently up the…"**_

"NO! YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!" Zabuza shouted.

Asuma and Kurenai were laughing their asses off in the tree above their students, as they were tormented over and over again by the big stranger that they had 'randomly' called out here to help coach them. Asuma's hands were shaking as he tried to light his next cigarette, while Kurenai plain out tried to keep it in by slapping both her hands over her mouth.

"B-FLAT! I SAID B-FLAT!"

"_**Row, Row, Row Your Boat…"**_

"NO! THAT'S B-NATURAL!"

* * *

_**A couple days later…**_

Naruto, Sakura and Hinata were finally let out of the hospital; all three of them stretching out and relieved to finally be able to have a breath of fresh air in over six days. They all basked in the glow of the late morning sun, before they waved goodbye to the hospital staff that saw them out of the building.

"That was actually nice," Sakura exclaimed, rubbing her shoulders. "If not the time we had to rest, but the time we spent together." She walked up to Naruto and wrapped her arms around his. Hinata did the same at the exact same time, wrapping her arms around Naruto as they walked down the path and off of the property. "We should do it again sometime."

Naruto smiled down at her.

"That would be great… but not at the hospital," he replied, as they walked past the gates, glancing back at the building. He cringed a bit at some of the flashes of memory popping up. "I can't stand needles. Plus, it would be extremely unlucky for us if we all got seriously injured and got sent here again, all at the same time. Let's try not to let that happen again…"

"Agreed," Hinata said with an affirmative nod.

"Agreed," Sakura also said, smiling up at the blonde.

Naruto reached into his newly fixed up trench coat's pocket and fumbled around in it for a while, before pulling out the Chunin Exam's registration form. When he did, he took a careful look at it, with Sakura and Hinata also taking a glance down at it. After giving it one more go over, the blonde shrugged and pocketed it.

"Chunin Exams are tomorrow… we should get ready," he said, looking between the two of them. They both nodded to him, and he nodded back. "I need to get my weapons and scrolls back up to speed… come on…"

The three of them then headed back to the mansion. Hopefully the place was still in one piece…

* * *

"OH… _**COME ON**_!" Naruto shouted in distress, looking at the state of his home's living room, with Ryoko lying in her underwear across the couch, covered in empty chip packets, hamburger rapping's, and her sword propped up next to her. Anko was also here, lying unconscious across the short width of the coffee table. Sakura and Hinata were astounded at the place, looking around the large room.

"Oh my…" Hinata whispered, looking a little bit concerned.

"Jeez… how did this happen?" Sakura asked, before looking up towards the ceiling. She noticed something peculiar dangling from the Chinese candle chandelier hanging high above them. "Hey… how did _he_ get up there?"

Ryoko groaned from a massive hang over and lifted herself up off of the couch, looking around the place when she resumed a proper sitting position. "Man… we really did a number on this place…" She then looked up towards the main building's entrance to see Naruto standing there, looking at the entire room, appalled (N.B: try to imagine Hinata-so from Love Hina, that's basically what the building looks like, not to mention the inside). "Oh… hey Naruto-kun…"

"I can't leave this house alone, can I?" Naruto growled in his loud voice, which was surprisingly unable to get a rouse so far out of the unconscious Anko, who was thankfully, still fully clothed. "Alright! Tenant is home! You!" He pointed at Ryoko, who grinned sheepishly at the state she had made. "Firstly, put some clothes on! Secondly, clean this place up! When I get back, it better be spotless!" He then glanced over at Sakura, still feeling a bit aggravated. "Please check to make sure Anko-sensei is still alive…"

"Sure…" Sakura then quickly jogged across the landfill of a floor space to get to her teacher. Hinata joined her, while Naruto stormed across whatever space was left for him to get to the other side where the staircase was and where the door leading to the basement sat as well.

"I pray to Kami that my basement is at least clean…" he mumbled to himself, forcing the door open and disappearing into the dark caverns.

When he got down there, he found out that it was clean… cleaned out! He gawked in shock when he found out that one of his wine shelves was completely empty of all bottles of wine and sake he had been saving up for special occasions. He frowned and took in a deep breath, choosing not to get too flustered over it and instead, went over to his secret chamber to cool off. Sliding open the entrance to the passageway, he marched on through and immediately got to work setting himself up for tomorrow's main events.

He plowed through his closet, choosing to go with his black and white samurai coat again, with black combat slacks, ANBU wrist and shin guards, and a fishnet top. He undressed himself quickly and got his new set of clothes on, head band and all, with his secret weapons hidden in all the appropriate places.

He decided to test his hidden blades, and flicked out both wrists to his sides, his elongated assassination blades flashing out, spring-loaded, from underneath his sleeves. Making sure they were secure and comfortable, he then went over to his arsenal on the wall and made a selection of weapons to put into his pouch.

Opening it up on the table, he shoved in three supply scrolls, one with extra weapons, one with C-Ration supplies, and one with camping tools. He then loaded up the other compartments of the pouch with standard issue shuriken, kunai, and then the other non-essentials, including arrows for his custom made crossbow, smoke, flash and explosive pellets, large custom, stainless steel ninja stars and kurai, and a pair of trench knives. Seeing that there were enough bladed weapons, he then went about stocking up the bandoleer he wore on his back underneath his trench coat with scrolls of different sorts, and on top of all of his weapons, didn't forget to pack his wallet.

Making sure he had everything right down to his crossbow, he then headed over to the table he had deposited all of his blunt stuff, and began sharpening his kunai, and making new stuff for his shelves.

Time was not gonna be wasted. Not by him…

* * *

_**Meanwhile… Upstairs…**_

"You know what," Anko said, taking a sip from her cup of tea that Isaribi had served for all the people in the lounge room. With a whopping smile, she looked over at Ryoko. "This has to be the best idea you've ever had…"

"We live in a ninja village… why didn't I think of this sooner?" Ryoko queried, now fully dressed and also drinking tea in a civilized manner. Sighing, she looked around. "Still it could be worse…"

While Anko, Isaribi, Ryoko, Sakura and Hinata sat around the living space, they were accompanied by some rather disgruntled Genin. On their hands and knees and wielding sponges, mops and hot buckets of water, the entirety of Team 8 was hard at work scrubbing the floor, with Asuma Sarutobi and Zabuza Momochi overlooking their progress. Of course, it was Zabuza being the true overseer, not Asuma.

"SCRUB HARDER! I WANT TO SEE MY FACE IN THAT FLOOR! I HAVE A DATE TONIGHT AND I DON'T HAVE A MIRROR!" Zabuza shouted, Shikamaru, Ino and Choji immediately picking up speed with all due haste. Shikamaru was on the floor scrubbing, Ino was mopping, and Choji was grabbing bags of trash and quickly running errands with it from inside the house to the dumpster outside.

Asuma grinned and nudged Zabuza in the side. "Are you sure you're tough enough on them already?"

Zabuza blinked in confusion as to what the man could be insinuating. He then smirked at the bearded Jonin when the idea popped into his head. "Oh… my apologies… I'll fix that right away, Asuma…" He turned back to the trio and, clearing his throat, took in a deep breath of air, then let it loose. "AND I WANT TO HEAR YOU THREE SINGING! SING DAMMIT!"

"_**Row, Row, Row Your Boat…"**_

"NO! NO! STOP! YOU'RE BUTCHERING THE CLASSICS! SING _THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC_ BY ABBA, AND SING IT WELL! A-FLAT… AND DON'T OVERCOMPENSATE ON THE CHORUS!"

Sakura held in her laughter, while Hinata just reduced hers to fits of giggles. That didn't stop Anko and Ryoko though, who burst out laughing the moment Shikamaru and his team started singing.

Shikamaru groaned as Ino and Choji sung the chorus and shook his head, wiping his brow. "This is such a drag…"

* * *

_**The next day…**_

Naruto, Hinata and Sakura marched up the stairs of the building to the third floor where they were told the Chunin Exams would be held. Naruto was in the attire he picked out yesterday, including his straw hat with metal plating on the top, while his two teammates have decided to go for something more daring and different, surprisingly enough. Hinata wore a purple jumper unzipped over a black tube top, and a pair of blue pants and matching sandals, with head band still worn over the usual place. Sakura on the other hand, wore a rather good looking red qipao with pink cherry blossom patterns on it, red sandals with shin guards and black fingerless-fighting gloves. Her brass knuckles were holstered appropriately for easy access.

As they ascended to the second floor and down the halls to the next staircase, they came across a group of students being blocked from a room that was supposedly Room '301', but was easily noticed to be a quick trick. Naruto rolled his eyes as the Genin up front complained to two other 'Genin' blocking the way.

The blonde and his teammates easily recognized them as their favorite West Gate Chunin chums…

"I-Isn't that Izumo-san and Kotetsu-san?" Hinata asked curiously as they stayed back from the crowd so not to draw attention to themselves. Sakura nodded with a half-smile.

"Yup…"

"Man…" Naruto chuckled while folding his arms. "Those are the worst henges I have seen yet! Come on…"

"Should we say hi?" Sakura asked.

"Don't bother, I'm sure someone else will do it for us," Naruto replied, before beginning his march on for the _real_ Chunin Exams room, walking with his head held high, and Sakura and Hinata following after him with smiles on their faces.

When the three members of Team 7 walked by the crowd the trio unintentionally caught the attention of a familiar face. The Genin was trying to get into the room along with the others. But like the crowd, they were failing miserably.

Rock Lee noticed them go by, especially the blonde member of the group. Ecstatic, he instead focused attention on his team instead of the door, and broke through the crowd after them.

"Naruto-kun!"

Naruto stopped in his tracks, blinking repeatedly when he recognized the voice.

"Oh no…" he turned around, and was greeted by a flash of green and a glint from a wide grin. The blonde smiled back at his fuzzy browed friend and held a fist out to him. "Hey Rock Lee… how's it going?"

"Oh, the flames of youth are burning brightly for me today, my friend!" Rock Lee replied, bumping fists with Naruto, before withdrawing his own and holding it up to him. "They are burning brightly for you too I see!"

"Are they?" Naruto looked down at himself momentarily, before smirking and looking back up at Lee. "I think I look good in white. What do you think?" He held up an edge of his trench coat, flashing the black underneath it, "A blank canvas… a clean slate… great for hiding in plain sight. You can put anything you want on it."

Lee nodded his head. "I agree! It's pure and peaceful! But green is lively, and invokes youth, hope and love! But whatever my dear friend Naruto decides to where, he is always a glowing pillar of strength!" Lee exclaimed this while posing rather humorously. Hinata giggled at his antics, while Sakura just shook her head with a smile, taking in similarities between him and some of Naruto's more open moments. Since the battle with their fears in the Forest of Death, Naruto has become more open with them. The green boy in front of them continued his rant.

"I have another youth suit if you want one, Naruto-kun!" Lee exclaimed, reaching behind him and unfurling the God awful spandex wear Naruto has been dreading. All three of them leaned backwards at the sight of it, literally. Lee stepped forward, holding it right in front of them as the three of them, with rather disturbed expressions, leant back so that they were literally horizontal to the floor. "As Gai-sensei says, the fibers allow excellent breathing of the body, and the soul is set free with the snugness and comfort! You must try it on!"

"I…I… Lee… really…I… well…" Naruto hesitated and straightened back up, along with his teammates. "I can't… I just… okay…" He took it deftly from Lee when he placed it in his arms, and Naruto looked down at it strangely. He swore, his face was turning green as he held it, and tested its weight and the feel for himself. He was actually surprised at how warm it felt. "Wow… it's not that bad."

"N-Naruto-kun…" Hinata tapped her friend's shoulder, capturing his attention and giggling in delight. "Y-You would like to wear…Lee-kun's suit?"

"Actually… I uhh…" Naruto folded it up and slipped it into the inside pocket of his coat. He grinned sheepishly at Hinata. "I'll get back to you on that…"

"It is the most youthful of clothing! You can feel the fires of youth burning between the threads!" Lee exclaimed, before unexpectedly holding up two more suits. "I must spread the Will of Fire in these suits, just like how my master spreads his youth to others. Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan… you must try on these suits!"

Sakura turned pale, and Hinata hesitated as she looked upon the suits.

"No way…" Sakura replied.

"I…Uhh…" Hinata mumbled, fidgeting nervously.

"I understand! You two are overwhelmed by the clothing's sheer beauty and absolute simplicity! But not to worry…" He held onto Sakura's, while Hinata took her's rather hesitantly. She held it between her fingers, and was pleasantly surprised by how soft the material it was. "When you are ready to accept the flames of youth my Sakura-chan…I will provide you with the suit when required!"

"Sure… right," Sakura replied, a huge sweat drop forming on her head animatedly as she stared oddly at her overly enthusiastic friend. "I will come see you when my spirit needs lifting and I need more…uhh… _youth_… Lee…" She forced the last bit out, not wanting to deter the boy.

"EXCELLENT!"

"Geez Lee, can you be any louder," a second, female voice sounded behind the overly energetic Genin, alerting Naruto and his team to the presence of the rest of Rock Lee's team approaching them. When they all turned towards the crowd, they saw a girl with brown hair in buns and wearing a combination pink and green martial arts outfit, accompanied by a beige looking boy with long brown hair and glassy eyes, approaching them. Hinata immediately recognized one of the members and, though a bit nerve rattled at the sight of him, bravely held her ground.

The pair stopped, flanking Lee, with Naruto and his team smiling at the newcomers.

"Hey Lee," Naruto exclaimed, gesturing with his hand towards the two Genin, who were but a year older then himself. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?"

"Oh, I am so sorry, Naruto-kun!" Lee jump started, hopping to the side and beginning introductions in a very theatrical, Rock Lee way. "These are my most energetic and youthful teammates! This here is my lovely friend and sparring partner, Tenten," Lee first introduced the girl, who smiled and waved at the Team, while drinking in Naruto standing in front of her, and reciprocating a rather warm smile from him. Lee then gestured to the other, more stoic member of his team. "And this is my eternal rival, Neji Hyuuga!"

"I believe we haven't met before," Neji said, stepping forward and holding his hand out to Naruto. The blonde returned with a noble and respectable handshake, and a friendly nod. "And… you are…?"

"Well, as Lee put it so delicately for you, I am Naruto… Naruto Uzumaki," the blonde replied, before gesturing to his teammates. "And these are my lovely teammates and closest of friends, Sakura Haruno… and Hinata Hyuuga…" The two girls waved in response to their introductions.

Neji nodded to Sakura, but gave a rather displeasing look towards Hinata, who glared back at him, albeit a few beads of sweat. The brown haired Hyuuga returned focus on Naruto, not wanting to deal with his cousin at the moment.

"You may want to consider associating with more respectable and distinguished comrades," Neji stated. "Unfortunately, there are particular shinobi who do not do their clans proud, and are considered weak and undeserving of their titles."

Naruto smirked, folding his arms at the older boy. "If you are insinuating that my team members are unworthy to be in your presence my friend, then you are seriously underestimating them." Naruto glanced over at Hinata, then back at Neji, smiling all the while. "Trust me when I say this… there is no one else I would want watching my back and my front then Hinata Hyuuga…" he paused to deliver more of an impact in his statement, "and Sakura Haruno. We are a team… and that's all that counts…"

Neji furrowed his brow, before looking over at Hinata, who, given a boost in her confidence by her teammate, stepped forward to confront her cousin on her own merit. Lee, Sakura and Tenten watched the conflict of words from the sidelines, all of them a little bit uneasy, but nonetheless, impressed by the confrontation. The Hyuuga boy raised an eyebrow before smirking at Naruto.

"We'll see…" he replied. "Perhaps we may have the honor of fighting each other sometime in the foreseeable future. If your words are of any influence, then we shall see who destiny favors the most…"

Naruto smirked. "Looking forward to it…" He then turned to the other, almost forgotten members of the team standing out of the light in this face-to-face showdown. Stepping forward, he held a hand out to Tenten. "I don't think I have seen you before. So far, Lee has been the only member of your team I have come to know quite well…" He shook hands with Tenten, who became a little bit uncomfortable, in a good way, under the blonde's gaze. "Tenten… was it?"

"Yeah," the brown haired girl replied, showing off a bit of spunk that Naruto smiled at. "I don't go as far outside of the training fields as my other teammates, but I have my moments up and around the village."

"I see…" Naruto said, still holding her hand firmly, yet gently. He glanced down at her grip, before smiling up at her after a quick breakdown of her hand. "A person can tell a lot about another from a mere handshake…"

"Really? What makes you say that, all of a sudden?" Tenten asked with a grin.

"Well, judging from the grooves in your hand and recently healed cuts, I'd have to venture a guess that you are a shuriken jutsu user and a weapons specialist…" He exclaimed, before nodding over to Neji, who watched them carefully and analytically. "Your Hyuuga friend has more of a light touch, yet are still considerably firm from years of practice; hands that belong to a style of Gentle Fist… while you. Your hands have grace… excellent friction… ideal for kunai and shuriken."

"My… how perceptive," Tenten replied, before asking her own question based on the information she picked up from the young man's hand. "A fellow taijutsu specialist?"

"Not a master… but I am quite proficient," Naruto replied, glancing over at his team and grinning. The two girls nodded back with equal looks of pride and confidence on their faces. "My team mostly specializes in taijutsu and close combat. We should get together some time and compare notes…"

"Of course…" Tenten replied, lowering her hand from his before nodding towards his right arm. "You may want to tighten the slack on your hidden blade. Wouldn't want that coming loose…"

"So you noticed," Naruto stepped back, adjusting his sleeves and smiling at her. "I look forward to a fight with the three of you. It should be interesting. But for now, we're heading up to the third floor to participate in the Chunin Exams. Don't want to be late." He fell back into formation with his teammates, who received the nods of understanding from the other three.

"We'll see you up there," Neji said.

"A most youthful declaration of friendship between comrades of the same leaf!" Lee exclaimed, holding a fist up and jabbing it in the air. "Another time, Naruto-kun, my other, eternal rival!"

Naruto saluted, and the girls waved before they all parted, not wanting to water down on the departure by awkwardly going in the same direction. Ultimately, the two teams split, wanting to take their own routes of getting to the actual room.

It was while they were finding the next flight of stairs Sakura glanced over at Hinata, who was looking more relieved then usual.

"Something wrong, Hinata?" Sakura asked. The Hyuuga girl looked over at her friend and smiled at her.

"N-No… nothing is wrong. I am fine," she replied, rather quickly.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at her, a little bit more suspicious now from her stammering reply. "It's that Neji guy isn't it?" Her teammate looked away, almost out of shame. "You're… afraid of him? What is he, like... your brother? Your cousin?"

Hinata nodded on the last part. Sakura Haruno blinked.

"Honestly I'm a bit surprised. But really…I shouldn't be. You two look almost exactly alike…" Sakura thought back to the guy's face, as the three of them began ascending stairs a little ways down the hall. "It's the eyes… the symbolic eyes of the Hyuuga Clan."

"The Byakugan," Naruto said, looking back at Sakura and Hinata, briefly stopping on the stairs, so he could speak with his teammates on the same level. "The most powerful eyes in the village… or… were, not since after we found the Rinnegan. But… so far, they are the largest and most distinguished clan in the village next to the Sarutobi clan and Inuzuka Clan." He looked at Hinata, who sort of shrunk a bit when his eyes turned to her. "You shouldn't have any reason to fear him, Hinata. You are stronger then him… I can tell…"

Hinata's ears and head perked up to his statement, and accompanying the blush on her face, her words came out, stammering.

"R-Really… Naruto-kun?"

Naruto smiled and took both her hands, holding them in his own.

"You have worked extremely hard to get where you are… harder then anyone else I have ever seen from your entire clan or from our year…" Naruto smiled and nodded to her sincerely. He looked at her hands, feeling the smooth texture, and the rough areas where old scars from her vigorous training have healed. This made his smile widen. "I have absolute faith in you that you can beat him if you should fight him."

Hinata, in a sort of state of shock, nodded. She became a bit more shocked when Naruto kissed, her, but she returned it willingly and enthusiastically. Sakura smiled at them, and placed her hands on her hips.

"Come on you two…" the pink haired girl exclaimed, grabbing both Naruto and Hinata by the hands and pulling them up. The grin she gave them was one that could spark great courage in any person. "We have an exam to take!"

With all due haste the three sole members of Team 7 quickly headed up to the designated room. As it turns out, it was easier to find then most others, since the door literally sat at the end of a long hallway. It liberally screamed at you; 'Right through here are the Chunin Exams; please leave your cheat sheets behind and all non-essential valuables. P.S Forget the first thing, feel free to bring in as many cheat sheets as you want, it's not like anyone is going to notice.' Of course, it wasn't a pretty good idea to sneak in a bunch of valuables, since the room would technically be filled with ninja, people who would gladly pick-pocket you for a laugh.

Not finding anymore obstacles or any one for that matter standing in their way, the three of them entered the room.

Pushing open the doors, the members of Team 7 braced themselves for what was beyond them…

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	30. The First Test

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_The First Test_

_**Inside Room 301**_

Naruto admitted that he had faced down a lot of shinobi in his time; tough ones that really had a bite to their bark, and a lot more who just had more bark then bite. However, as soon as he stepped through into Room 301, and that flash of light upon entry that died down seconds later, the blonde thought that he had just crossed the line between this world and the other world. He and his teammates blinked in surprise when every single eye of every single candidate in the room turned to glare daggers at them.

From first glance, Sakura immediately saw that there were well over a hundred people in here, all of them Genin. Furthermore, a quick scan over the crowd told her that there were Genin from different other nations and different other Hidden Villages, not just Konohagakure, but also Sunagakure, Amegakure, Kusagakure, Takigakure, and Kumogakure. Hinata sort of slunk back when she noticed the glares, but seeing Naruto and Sakura standing tall, gave her more inclination to stand by them, and straightened up a little.

"Oh my God…" Naruto said, blinking. "This kind of reminds of the time I woke up one morning and thought that my apartment was being invaded by rat people…"

"It's like the land of beige in here," Sakura commented, before looking down at herself and pinching at the corner of her martial arts gear. "Man… I feel so over dressed…"

"They all look so angry…" Hinata pointed out, glancing over at Sakura. "Maybe coming in like this was a bad idea."

"I guess everybody is like this before a big exam. Must be all the stress, on top of the fact that foreign ninja… even perhaps enemy ninja, are mingling about," Naruto said, looking around and taking in new meat from old meat. A grin then formed on his face and he looked over at Hinata. "You know what would be fun…?"

"Huh?" the Hyuuga piped up curiously.

"Name _that_ guy!"

"Oh…okay!" Hinata exclaimed, and both of them stepped up to the plate, along with Sakura. "I love this game!"

Surprisingly and hilariously enough, all three members of Team 7 began pointing out random people who looked almost like somebody else that they knew or looked like somebody they had passed by on the streets recently, even though that person most likely wasn't, as well as ones who reminded them of famous, historic figureheads. They made a game out of the fact that whenever you were in a big crowd and you were staring at the back of somebody's head that reminded you of a close friend of yours and you go up to them to say hi, you find out it is a complete stranger and get really embarrassed.

Well, in this game, Benjamin Franklin's naming law could suck it, because Naruto and his friends had made an awesome game out of it.

"Let's see… that Suna ninja looks like Zabuza, that one clearly reminds me of the crazy guy down at the book store who screams at pigeons, oh… a mummy… that Goth girl from the academy… she scared the hell out of me…" Naruto began, just to name a few, poking his chin in thought. "Ah… clearly a guy that looks like old man Teuchi…"

"Girl who looks like Mia… accept without the red hair and freaky eyes," Sakura said, looking around and pointing out someone else. "Oh! I remember! Guy who looks like Asuma… only skinnier and doesn't smoke… but the face is exactly the same…"

"Uhh… b-boy that looks like Gozu, and a girl who looks like Ayame-chan!" Hinata pointed, then turned and pointed at another one. "Oh! Oh! Oh… Shino-kun!"

"Oh yeah… that guy does look like Shino," Naruto exclaimed. But then, when he saw the boy walking towards them, accompanied by two other guys, the blonde blinked. "Wait… that… _**is**_… Shino…"

Team 8 pushed their way through the crowd and came right up to Team 7, Sasuke, Kiba and Shino all randomly formed up, with the Uchiha at the head of the pack.

"Well, well, well… isn't this a surprise!" Kiba exclaimed, grinning at Naruto and his girlfriends, all of them exchanging smiles with their former fellow classmates, now rival Genin team. "Dead-last, billboard and… uhh…" He looked over at Hinata, but found it difficult to come up with a nickname for her. "Umm… I don't really know what to call you… Hinata…"

"Glass-eye, Kiba-kun?" she suggested.

He clapped his hands and grinned, giving her the thumbs up. "That's it! Glass-eye! My favorite Team of weirdoes…"

Sakura was glaring bullets at the grizzly looking boy, who had just noticed the amount of killing intent rising in the kunoichi, and backed away cautiously.

"Billboard…?" the girl hissed through gritted teeth.

"You're one to talk, dog-food," Naruto said, grinning back at the boy with his dog companion sitting comfortably atop of his head. "I'd say you're _barking_ up the wrong tree if you're thinking the cat at the top doesn't have names to throw down at you… not to mention teme and…" Naruto paused when he looked Shino up and down, who was standing there staring at them. The blonde hesitated and pointed in his direction. "I like you Shino… I don't want to call you names…"

Shino nodded to him politely in response, not even bothering to say a word.

Sasuke grinned at Naruto. "Been training hard, dobe?" he asked his most preferred rival, looking forward to a conflict with him to test his own skills.

"More then you can believe, teme," the said, spiky haired Genin replied, holding his fist out to the Uchiha in his characteristic way. "I hope you guys have got some new moves to show me, because I'll be severely disappointed and bored it you don't…"

The Uchiha and Uzumaki bumped knuckles, as a show of good faith and rivalry.

"Sasuke and Kiba would definitely have worked their butts off… all things considered," Sakura stated, before glancing oddly over at Shino, who was just standing patiently on the sidelines, looking like he wasn't really paying attention to anything they were saying. "I'm not… really sure about you, Shino. Do you even train? Do you even have a body to train with?"

Shino lowered his head at her, taking in her words to heart. "You underestimate my abilities, Sakura. Perhaps if we confront each other some time down the line, you can see how much I _have_ improved from the last time we met."

"Oh… right… the escort mission. Everybody had a pitch in that battle," Sakura grinned at him. "What was that quote you often said back in the academy; about the caterpillars and butterflies?"

"No quote… just that the caterpillar invokes many secrets in its life, and will not reveal its secrets till it evolves…" the boy replied. "And even then, there are many more secrets hidden behind the insect's life…"

"You're a real mystery, you know that?" the pink haired girl commented.

"Shino-kun has always been a mystery," Hinata commented. She then averted her gaze to her right. "Kiba-kun has always been strong and… eager… but kind as well…"

"Thanks, Hinata!" Kiba grinned, rubbing the ridge under his nose. Sasuke looked over at his teammate, a small smirk on his face.

"Not to mention loud, obnoxious, annoying, smells like ten cows, and sniffs other peoples' butts when he greets them," the Uchiha commented. Kiba growled at him and thrust his index finger right at his face, pointing at his teammate in an accusing manner.

"THAT WAS A LOW BLOW!" Kiba shouted.

"I agree… that was kind of uncalled for," Sakura said, but then snickered off to the side. That did not fall out of Kiba's ear shot.

"Hey! I thought you had my back, Sakura?"

"Naruto!" The blonde looked in the direction of the new voice, and wasn't at all surprised when he saw Team 10 storming up to him. Choji pushed his way past Kiba, not even caring about the curses flying his way and pointed right at Naruto in a very accusing, very pissed off manner. "I've got a bone to pick with you!"

"Huh?"

"Your roommates are a bunch of disgusting, uneducated slobs!" Choji shouted, grabbing the blonde by the shoulders and beginning to shake him. "HOW DARE YOU MAKE US CLEAN YOUR LOUNGE ROOM? IT WAS THE SIZE OF A TENNIS COURT! I spent hours trying to clean the pizza stains off of the ceiling!"

"Oh so that's what those were!" Naruto replied, nodding his head as he remembered the odd patterns on his living room ceiling. "I thought Michael Angelo secretly paid me a visit one day and just plain gave up. Man, he must have been one whiny, bitchy…"

"And another thing! I... feel so sorry for you!" Choji then did a complete one-eighty and hugged him. Naruto awkwardly stood there when, not only did Choji start hugging him, but Ino came up to him and hugged him to. Both of them hung onto him as if they learned he was going to die tomorrow, which earned amused looks from everybody around him. Kiba and Sasuke snickered, whereas Sakura just gave Naruto a questioning look, to which he shrugged.

It was eventually revealed why the pair were hugging him, Choji patting him on the shoulder in comfort.

"I can't believe you're still alive," Choji began, pulling away. "After everything you go through... every...day..."

"Wha…?"

"You live with so many sadistic people," Ino said, giving him a friendly smile. "Your sensei, that monster Zabuza, Ryoko… Mia… you are so unlucky, Naruto…"

"Uhh…umm…"

"Shhh… it's okay," Ino hugged him again, rocking him back and forth as he stood where he was, now feeling a little bit uncomfortable. "Don't cry, Naruto-kun. Your Ino-chan is here for you…"

"I'm not crying," Naruto murmured, taking in a deep breath of air. "I'm just… severely… creeped out right now…" He looked over at Shikamaru. "Are you guys… feeling okay?"

Sakura looked over at Shikamaru, who was just standing off on the sidelines as he watched his teammates Choji and Ino 'comfort' a now distraught and scared Naruto.

"Why aren't you comforting him?" Sakura asked. Shikamaru shrugged and stretched out his shoulders and neck.

"It's too troublesome…" he replied, frowning as he looked up at the Sakura and Hinata. "Even though I'm surprised you guys now all live in the same building and support yourselves well enough, I'm still pained by the fact that _**we**_ had to clean the entire main lounge… ceiling and all…"

"Yeah… sorry about that," Sakura replied, rubbing the back of her head and sticking her tongue out sheepishly.

"I-It wasn't our fault," Hinata said, holding her hands together. "We were recovering in the hospital after our training…"

"Ngh… it's too much of a bother to ask why, but I assume it has something to do with your teacher," Shikamaru replied, frowning in a bored way at them. _"I shouldn't be too surprised… that Anko Mitarashi is a strange one…"_

Eventually, Naruto managed to pry away from Ino and Choji, and hid behind his two other teammates, who kept a barrier up between him and the others, for his own sake. Although Sakura and Hinata were amused by the fact that Naruto was rather uncomfortable with all the hugging and comfort, they did feel a bit sorry for him, since he technically was the one bearing the bulk of all the misplaced frustration and pity. Sasuke, Kiba and Shino broke off a bit, with the Inuzuka engaging in conversation with his teammates about how the exam would go, while the entirety of Team 10 began animatedly discussing with Team 7 about past events and training.

There was no confrontation between them at all.

They were all here on good grounds.

"Although honestly… come on… singing?" Ino threw her hands up in distress. "You have to be insane to sing and do pushups at the same time."

"My voice went hoarse, I sang so much!" Choji said begrudgingly, rubbing his throat. "It's uncomfortable to eat! Not to mention last night I dreamt all about rowing boats and rivers… it was not fun!"

"Well… at least you didn't have to go through a dangerous animal sanctuary just to…'find your self'!" Sakura said, while making a quotation gesture with her fingers. "We were hospitalized for four weeks because the supposedly 'spiritual journey' turned into a fight for our lives!"

"We got burns, deep cuts…and everything," Hinata stated with certainty, nodding her head. "My muscles were so sore, it… it hurt to roll around in bed. It was a miracle we didn't die…"

"Then again, singing is kind of torture for you guys," Naruto commented, smirking at Shikamaru. "I bet you sound just divine…"

"Don't go there, please…" the brown haired slouch groaned.

"Okay… but seriously," Naruto looked over at Ino, folding his arms. "You must have a good voice on you, Ino-chan. I've heard you hum to yourself while you water your plants in your family's shop…"

The girl blushed and looked away, rubbing her cheeks in embarrassment. "R-Really? H-How… wait!" Naruto grinned when she looked up at him, a bit startled. "How do you know I sing when I water my plants?"

The boy shrugged back. "I'm a night-walker… I tend to hop around from building to building on my late night errands. Unfortunately I can't tell you what these errands are; it's strictly on a need-to-know-basis." Ino sighed and shook her head at the blonde, smiling at him bashfully.

Stepping away, Naruto looked back over at the crowd of Genins still watching them with great interest, if not great spite. The beige field of shinobi did little to intimidate him, with Naruto just giving them a raised-eyebrow expression in return, hands in his pockets as he looked around, trying to pick out other familiar faces.

It was when he saw a familiar mop of brownish-red hair wearing sand garbs and a giant gourd on his back did Naruto finally find a familiar face not from this village. Knowing full well who that gourd belonged to, the blonde moved away from his group and approached the crowd. Unfortunately, a couple of beefy looking Genin from Konoha, wanting to harass someone and intimidate the competition, stood in the shorter boy's path. They had to be around sixteen, to eighteen years old, whereas the short, thirteen year old looked up at them with disinterest.

But still…

"_Dammit… I hate being short! They always pick on the short kids! Why is everybody else so tall! I hate the world…"_

Tipping his straw hat up to get a better view of the Konoha boy in front of him, Naruto sighed, giving him a friendly smile.

"Excuse me, can I get through?"

The boy with the slab-of-stone excuse of a face crossed his arms at the blonde. Remaining calm, and deciding to sort this out through words, the whisker-marked boy continued to smile, and gestured around the teen.

"Can you please move so I can pass?"

Still no response.

Instead, more of the big Genin's cronies came up behind him as added support, and stood in Naruto's way like a wall of meat. Naruto sighed and realized right then and there that negotiations have failed him once again, and now, extreme measures must be taken.

"Okay, this is going to be your last and only warning," the blonde began, pointing at the first one to get in his way. "If you don't move…" he pointed to the guy next to him. "His fist… is going into your face." He pointed back at the one in front of him.

The horde of Genin chuckled in amusement, knowing that the little 'pushover' wasn't going to be any trouble. Shaking his head, Naruto stepped forward, only to have his shoulder grabbed by the Genin to his right. In the blink of an eye, the blonde grabbed that boy's arm, twisted it (earning a cry of agony), and slammed the hand's knuckles into the Genin's face in front of him, earning a satisfying crunch sound on impact. The blow knocked the boy off his feet and into his buddies behind him.

All at once, fists came flying at Naruto, who effortlessly grabbed those incoming, and grappled, twisted, and tossed over the people those fists were attached to. One after the other he threw aside every single Genin that attempted to 'attack' him, before grabbing the one who had gotten in his way first, and held him in an extended arm lock, hand grabbing the wrist and the other hand pressed against the pressure point at the neck. Naruto was now able to get a good view of Gaara above the groaning pile of wusses lying around him.

"Hey! Gaara, is that you?" Naruto exclaimed, finally catching the Sand Siblings' attention if the hassle to get through the crowd didn't.

Now everybody had their attention on Naruto. Aside from the rest of the Rookie Nine standing in the background and watching in amusement at the failed attempts made by the other Genin of Konohagakure to try and muscle Naruto, now every single able-bodied Genin in the room was looking at him. The red haired younger sibling Gaara, hearing his name called, turned in the direction of the voice, and was surprised to see Naruto, effortlessly grappling a random Genin to the ground, who gave up on consciousness shortly thereafter and left the land of the living for a few seconds, body hitting the ground with a loud thud.

Gaara was surprised when he recognized his old friend from yester-year. "Uzumaki-san?" he voiced in his monotone voice. Temari and Kankuro also accompanying him were also surprised to see the familiar blonde.

"Isn't that…?" Kankuro began.

"I knew it was you!" Naruto exclaimed as he began to walk towards his old friends, stepping over the body of the Genin he had knocked out. Another Konoha shinobi attempted to jump him from behind, but Naruto simply slapped him in the face and pushed him aside. That one was followed by another Genin rushing him from the side, but Naruto stepped back and tripped him, the boy flying over his leg and slamming headlong into a table. "Man what a coincidence… (he slapped another teen out of the way rushing him from his right)… I looked into the crowd… (he grappled another attempting to punch him from his left, grabbing him by the wrist and twisting it till he fell over)… and I saw this familiar mop of red hair." He grabbed another Genin attempting to tackle him by the neck and threw him aside effortlessly. "I thought to myself 'it couldn't be'… (Another Genin was tossed over his shoulder from an attempted tackle)…"but then… here you are! I never expected you guys to be here!" Naruto delightfully exclaimed, while throwing his left fist over his shoulder and knocking out another Genin.

And hence, the crowd was easily thinned out.

Naruto dusted his hands and grinned happily at Gaara. "So… how have you been?"

The red haired boy smiled and happily shook hands with Naruto when he extended his hand towards him, the blonde feeling how grainy his fellow jinchuriki's hand was, but ignoring it all the same. Instead, he exchanged pleasantries with the foreign Genin.

"Uzumaki-san… it's been so long…"

"It's been _too_ long, Gaara," Naruto exclaimed happily. "Are you doing okay? Have people been treating you well… or have at least started treating you better then before?"

"Not really," the boy replied, lowering his hands. "They still view me as an inconvenience… and ignore me…"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Well… that's not good…" He looked up at Kankuro and Temari. "Do you two have anything to do with that?"

"What? NO! Come on… you know me better then that!" Kankuro replied, waving his hands in front of him to throw off the blonde's suggested accusations. "Do you think I would pick on my younger brother? I don't have the guts to play chess with my sister! Come on, Naruto… you've been our friend since… how long has it been? Five years. We've known each other for that long… jeez…"

The blonde looked the hooded shinobi up and down, before looking him in dead in the eyes with a judging look. It was then the spiky haired Genin smirked up at the older, taller sibling.

"Still using your sister's make up as face paint, huh?"

While Temari giggled and Gaara smiled in amusement, Kankuro fumed and shook his fist down at the boy in embarrassment and mock anger.

"I KEEP TELLING YOU, IT'S WAR PAINT!"

"Yeah-yeah…" Naruto waved. He then turned towards Temari, the older sister of Gaara and one of the most gorgeous kunoichi in this room. He grinned at her. "Keeping these two out of trouble?"

"As much as I can, yes," the golden haired teen replied, smiling happily at the spiky haired Genin, clearly just as happy to see him as Gaara was. "Still… I can only stress that we've had better days. I'm afraid things are starting to go a little bit down south for us…"

"Down south, aye?" Naruto queried, smirking. Temari's look suddenly became more serious, and after looking left and right in a cautious way, turned back to the blonde, visually alerting him that something was up. Gaara also seemed to keep an extra eye and ear out, while Kankuro, seeing that Temari was about to say something important to their friend, began deterring anyone close by from listening. "What's going on? Things seem a bit more tense then usual…"

"I know we're close friends, Naruto…so you know when we have something serious to say to you… you _take_ _it_ seriously. We just… didn't expect you to be back here in this village at this time…" Temari whispered.

"Events have been occurring back in our village that you should become more aware of," Gaara said, expression unchanging.

"Hold on…" Naruto held up a hand, glancing around to his left. It was then he, Gaara and Temari noticed the three shinobi with the musical note headbands standing off to the side, glaring at them. When the three turned in their direction, they averted their gazes.

Temari furrowed her brow. "Good call…"

"We'll talk about that later…" Naruto replied. Turning his head, his attention refocused on the pair. "For now, tell me how things have been for you these past few years… I've missed you guys…" Gaara nodded and Temari just smiled, Kankuro still looking around aimlessly… well… so it seemed.

While Naruto was engaged in a deep conversation with Temari and Gaara, looking over the heads of the Genin who were now struggling back to their feet after their one-sided ass kicking, Sakura, Hinata and the others became more then a bit curious as to why Naruto was associating with complete strangers from another village. Of course, they had no idea what was up on their end, but as far as they could tell, the blonde knew the three he was talking to pretty well.

"What do you think they are talking about, Hinata?" Sakura asked, with her arms crossed. Her Hyuuga Clan team member replied with a shrug.

"S-Something important… or maybe they're… catching up with one another," Hinata replied, smiling. "Naruto has met a lot of people in his life…"

"You can say that again," Sakura responded without even having to take anything into consideration, also smiling. _"The things he has done… geez. Thinking about it might give me a migraine…"_

While Teams 7, 8 and 10 communicated with respect to those who they knew, whether scattered around the room or not, the door behind the Rookie Nine suddenly opened again, the attention in the room turning towards the entrance. Naruto and the Sand Siblings also turned to see who had just entered the room, wondering if it was the proctors that were running the exam, or Jonin coming to organize their teams. However, aside from first thoughts, it didn't come to anybody's surprise that another three Genin entered their midst.

Standing at the closing doors were three individuals, the shortest of the group standing in the middle. Immediately after spotting them, the dozens of Teams scattered throughout the classroom looked towards the strangers' headbands, and saw that the newcomers were Kirigakure shinobi.

The middle man was a short young male around Naruto's age, wearing a full body, brown cloak with red linings, and a hood that was pulled up. Underneath the hood, a little light revealed significant details of his actual appearance, including pink eyes, a stitched up scar running from his left eye down his cheek, and unkempt grey hair framing his face. He had a very vacant expression, and seemed to be the quietest of the lot. A black staff was on his back, with a hook on each end, a flower adorned on the largest of the hooks.

The second member stood on the short boy's right. He was around Lee's age, and was the tallest. He had a light brown trench coat with buckles clasping it shut, and what appeared to be a large plastic water-bottle on his back, but it was filled with black smoke, or what looked like smoke. A high collar hid a thin mouth and a sharp nose, with black goggles worn over the young male's eyes. He also had pitch black hair tied back into a ponytail, his head band holding the rest of his hair back.

The third member was the most peculiar; a beautiful young girl with ghost white hair, and equally light blue eyes. She wore a very colorful, red, yellow, purple and green kimono, with the left side worn down, revealing she had bandages wrapped around her chest and mid-section, with her headband hanging from her neck. A parasol was on her back, and what looked to be a thick walking staff was held in her hand. However, it wasn't just her appearance from her teammates that made her seem strange, it was how she acted.

The moment they entered the room, she seemed to stray off, searching the ground with her staff. Her teammates didn't mind, and let her wander.

"Hey… _new meat_," Kiba exclaimed, looking them over. "They don't seem that tough."

"They look just like everybody else in this room," Ino stated, raising an eyebrow as she watched the white girl tap her way over here with her stick.

"Don't let appearances deceive you," Shino stated, looking around at the others. "They may be stronger then they appear."

"He's got a point," Sakura agreed.

Choji, now munching on a packet of chips, watched as the white haired girl came up to him, and unexpectedly, bump into him. He dropped a handful of chips because of that maneuver, and he glared up at her.

"Hey!"

"Oh…I-I'm so sorry," the Kirigakure girl replied, and stepped away, continuing to aimlessly walk around. She then accidentally bumped into Shikamaru, then Sasuke, and then Kiba, as she walked through them as best as she could. She apparently had a lot of trouble moving around.

"Okay, what is up with this girl?" Ino asked, watching as the girl moved towards the crowd. "Is she stupid or something? Cause I have half a mind right now to drag her back here and get her to apologize!"

"Shut up, Ino," Shikamaru hissed, looking back towards the white haired teen that passed them. "I think she's blind…"

The Rookie Nine was half-surprised to hear this, and watched as the newcomer became acquainted with other physical objects of the room, particularly the occupants. She kept walking, tapping her stick in front of her, while accidentally running into a tall, young man with standard, purple ninja clothing and glasses.

"Oh… sorry…" she said, passing him by.

"That's okay… my fault," Kabuto replied, watching as the odd girl went to wander amongst the crowd.

She then had the fault to accidentally bump into a rather annoyed group of Amegakure shinobi, the leader with a scar over his eye being rather ticked off when she walked into him. Before she could walk off, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up to him, the Rain Ninja obviously the taller of the two.

"Ow… I… I'm sorry…I…"

"You'd better watch it girlie!" the boy sneered at her, making sure his face was right up to hers so that she heard him. Of course, everybody heard him, and this kind of had everyone from Rookie Nine glare at him in response. "Don't make me break something on you…"

"Pl-Please forgive me," the girl pleaded, in an almost Hinata like way. However, she seemed to act much more vulnerable then the purple haired Hyuuga. "I…It won't happen again…"

"You're just a waste of ninja! I think I'll have to break your wrist to teach you a lesson," the boy said with a grin, tightening his grip on the girl's wrist. However, before he could cause any harm to her, another hand grabbed the boy's arm and yanked it away from the wrist he was holding. The Rain Genin glared up at the girl's black haired teammate, who held the boy's own wrist firmly in his grasp. While this was happening, the blind girl slinked behind her tougher teammates, who had quickly come to her aid. "What the hell do you want?"

"Leave my teammate alone…" the boy replied in a voice almost derivative of Shino's only deeper.

The Rain Ninja smirked. "Or what, shades?"

Suddenly there was a loud crack and the Amegakure Genin, whose wrist was still cuffed by the firm hand, let out a cry of agony when the Mist Ninja tightened his grip like a wrench. The Rain Ninja's bones almost turned to splinters around his arteries, when the black haired teen went through with his unwarned threat, and crushed his wrist with his bare hand. All the shinobi standing around them leapt back in shock, with Rookie Nine also looking on in alarm at the unexpected turn of events.

"He…" Ino gulped.

"Broke his wrist… apparently…" Sasuke finished, flinching at the very thought of his hand being in that Genin's grasp.

"AAAARRRGGGHhhhhhh! Let go!" the Rain Ninja cried, trying to yank his arm free, only to find it stuck in the vice like hold. It was like trying to pull your hands out of a cement wall.

The black haired shinobi grinned sinisterly under his collar, before looking over at his other teammates.

"This one is tough… may I eat him?" he asked. To those who were within ear shot, they were immediately horror struck by the words and stepped back even more. Some were scared, others were disgusted, while a set few believed it to be an empty bluff.

The short Kiri Ninja, obviously the team leader, whom the black haired boy addressed with his question, shook his head in a clear _no_. His teammate took that as his definitive and final answer, and released the boy, who staggered off with his teammates and disappeared into the crowd, leaving the Kirigakure trio standing as the centers of attention.

Some of the Rookie Nine members were a little bit intimidated by what had just happened, especially Ino, Choji, Shikamaru, Hinata and, oddly enough, Kiba, whereas other Genin such as Sakura, Sasuke and Shino were disturbed, none to say the least. Everybody else outside of the group was just appalled by the team's actions. Naruto stood astounded and now wearier of the new group, Gaara stood alongside him showing no signs of disapproval whatsoever, while Temari and Kankuro, unlike their younger brother, looked on with a bit more concern for the Kirigakure Genin's presence. Team Gai also became fascinated with the newcomers, but chose to stay out of the rousing conflict. It was a wise decision on everybody's part to stay away from them.

An explosion of smoke on the far side of the room signaled the arrival of the proctors, all eyes trailing towards the blackboard and he surrounding walls. Out of the smoke emerged a formation of a small platoon of Chunin and Jonin class shinobi, the head proctor, a tall, facially scarred man wearing a black bandana and trench coat, standing in the center of the troop.

"Alright, listen up you miserable ingrates!" the tall man, whom Naruto immediately recognized from past meetings with Anko when she brought him down the ANBU HQ, roared at the hundred plus Genin scattered around the room. "I am Ibiki Morimo; Proctor of the First Stage of the Chunin Exams and from this moment on, your worst enemy!"

Perhaps everybody who was staring at the man trembled at the very sight of him. All those who knew him though…

…weren't that intimidated

"But before we begin!" He pointed towards the Kirigakure shinobi clearly seen standing in the circle made around them by the crowd of nerve-rattled Genin. "You Genin from the _Village Hidden in the Mists_, **do not** quarrel with the other candidates, I will have no fighting in this room. Especially from you…" He then pointed at Naruto, who looked around and whistled nonchalantly. Obviously, his handiwork did not go unnoticed. "You think I hadn't noticed? Any more trouble making from you, and I will have you dropped from the Exams! The same goes for the rest of you! If I see anymore fighting, I will make sure that the shinobi responsible will be disqualified!"

Sakura smirked and nudged Shikamaru in the arm. "He's just pissed because his girlfriend broke up with him last week." The members of the group who heard this snickered silently.

Once the murmuring tossed around the room subsided, Ibiki smirked and nodded his head.

"I see we've finally come to an understanding. Good," he exclaimed, clearing his throat. "Now that we're ready, we will proceed to the First Stage of the Exams. Hand in your paperwork and registration cards, and in return, each of you will be randomly dealt a number…" He explained this while holding up a small tab with the Number 1 on it. "This number will determine where each of you will sit! The written test will begin once all of you are seated and the rules have been explained to you all…"

It took about half an hour for everybody to hand in their registration forms and be dealt a number, and an extra twenty minutes was spent allocating seats for all the candidates. The Rookie 9, as well as everybody else, found themselves sitting next to complete strangers, away from any familiar faces. This may have decreased the confidence of a lot of the rookie ninja and those prone to cracking under pressure, but to those used to such torment; it hardly scratched the surfaces of their skin.

Naruto sat in between two other Genin in the forth row, both of them from two different villages. This was the same for Sakura, who sat at the fifth to last row, and Hinata who sat in the middle. Sasuke sat close to the side around the middle, Gaara was right next to one of the walking spaces, Kiba sat close to the windows, and as for everybody else… well… they were just lost amongst the sea of bobbing heads and hairdos.

As the exam papers were handed out, along with a standard issue pencil, rubber, sharpener and ruler set, everybody was in a state of discomfort one way or another. Whether it was the mental stress or fatigue, or something outside of that, it was absolutely clear that no one person wasn't fidgeting in some way.

"Oooh… indigestion," Choji groaned, rubbing his stomach. "Shouldn't have eaten that burger so quickly…"

"_Man… these sandals are so itchy_!" Kiba groaned, scratching his shoulder as well as his ankles_. "I should have taken a bath before this… geez…"_

"_Boooorrrrriiing…" _Shikamaru thought, half asleep. He yawned out loud, earning an odd glance from the two Genin sitting on his left and right.

"…..._" _White noise was the only thing going through Shino's head at that very moment. The only thing that happened while he was sitting quietly in his seat was when he reached up with his hand up and scratched his nose.

"_Stay focused… keep cool… keep calm… don't blank out!" _Sakura thought, as she fed herself confidence and uplifting words to keep her on her toes. _"You're going to do awesome! Don't worry! Your team will do awesome to! You __**are**__ awesome!" _"I _am_ awesome…" she said, smiling.

There was a tap on the black board, and everybody averted their gaze forwards. Ibiki stood up next to the board, his Chunin teams deposited around the perimeter of the room in rather uncomfortable looking chairs and notepads in their hands. All of them had smug looking grins as they watched the Genin stare worriedly up at the tall Interrogator.

"Everyone… eyes front!" Ibiki began, grabbing everybody with his words. "There are a few rules you all need to be aware of, so wake up and pay attention, because I will not be repeating myself, and I will not be answering any questions! Got it?" All he got in response were hesitant nods, gulps, or blank stares. "Alright! Rule Number 1 is this! The written part of the exam is based on a point deduction system! Contrary to popular belief, we don't add points for every correct answer. Instead, at the beginning of this exam, you are already given a perfect score of ten points, that's one point per question. One point will be deducted for every question you get wrong, so if you miss out or answer three questions incorrectly, your final score at the end of the exam will be seven!"

"_Why do I get the feeling that I will soon be filling out a death warrant?" _Naruto queried, rubbing his chin in thought.

"Rule Number 2: teams will pass or fail based on the total scores of all three members," Ibiki stated. Though this raised a mass of murmurs and groans of obvious disapproval, this only put a grin on Ibiki's inner self. "Rule Number 3: the sentinels you see positioned around the room are there to watch you carefully for any signs of cheating. For every incident they spot, they will deduct two points from the culprits score."

Everybody looked around at the Chunin surrounding the room. Kotetsu and Izumo were also here, grinning wildly and clearly enjoying themselves. It was while the members of Team 7 were scanning the room that Hinata spotted another familiar face sitting by the window dressed in the same standard issue sentinel outfits as the Chunin. The purple haired Hyuuga was actually surprised to see Haku sitting amongst them, a smile on his face as he looked about the place. When he spotted Hinata, he waved, the girl waving back with a small smile.

"_T-The Hokage must have promoted him to Chunin… right after Zabuza-san gave a report on himself and Haku…"_ the Hyuuga thought. _"Good for him…"_

"Be warned… all the sentinels surrounding you have eyes like a hawk, and if they catch you five times, you will be dismissed before the tests are even scored!" Ibiki exclaimed with a grin. This did not put a smile on everybody's faces. In fact, it made the room a tad bit colder with the extra sets of eyes watching the Genin from every corner of the room. "Anyone fool enough to be caught by them doesn't deserve to be here. So don't let us catch you peaking at another person's test sheet…"

Haku grinned and nodded towards a bunch of Genin sitting on his end. "I've got my eye on you guys…"

A lot of other Chunin sitting around the room were doing the exact same thing, glaring needles and making fun of the other Genin.

"If you want to be considered shinobi… then show us… what exceptional shinobi you can be!" Ibiki said, smirking. Then, another thought came to mind, and he snapped his fingers. "Oh yes… one more thing. If any member of your team gets a zero, then the entire team fails. Just so you know…and as you may later notice, there are only nine questions listed on your exam papers. The tenth and final question won't be given out until fifteen minutes to the end of the testing period…"

This statement had everybody curious, with a lot of the Genin who were strangers to each other sharing glances and comments. It was kind of a new thing for them to be given a question at the end of the test when it wasn't listed. Perhaps it was a question that determined whether they passed or failed.

"You have one hour total! You may begin!" Ibiki shouted, slipping his hands into his pockets.

The sounds of papers rustling and pencils being picked up could be heard all round, almost simultaneously. Within seconds Genin row after row filled out their names before digging into the questions… or… as far as they could actually go in understanding them.

The moment eyes were laid out on the first question, heads were rolling.

The members of the Rookie Nine were beyond perplexed. The first question was particularly tricky, but then, a little ways after question five, it was almost impossible. Ino gave up the moment she read the third question, and Kiba was sweating bullets when his eyes rolled over the forth. Choji just clutched his head as he looked over the questions, groaning and murmuring to himself as he stared dazedly at the first one. Shikamaru found that answering the questions was too much of a drag at this point, and decided to mellow it over in a nap.

Hinata tilted her head in curiosity, as the first question was a coded one. She furrowed her brow as she went over it.

"_An encoded message… oh dear…"_

"_Let's see… Question Two… Line B indicates the trajectory of the shuriken thrown by the Ninja at position A on top of a tree seven meters tall, at Enemy Ninja at position C. Describe and formulate the trajectory of the shuriken if it was thrown at positions D, E, and F, while also predicting the furthest possible range of the shuriken and explain how you arrived at your answer… hmm?" _Naruto thought, scratching his chin. He just shrugged and answered it. "I threw it really… really… hard…"

He then moved onto the next one. _"Question 3… hmm… A geographical map, outlining the significant areas of height, wind speed and altitude of a particular land formation has you stuck at point A. The destination is at point B. Using proper measurements and taking into account the allotted time it would take to arrive at point B, as well as the maximum amount of supplies taken on the trip, determine the exact distance between point A and B, also taking note of the appropriate route by means of travel. Also, part b; determine the best possible positions for ambush and the most likely areas enemy ninja are likely hiding. Describe in detail the best way to avoid encounters and to avoid casualties…" _Naruto blinked. He held onto the paper for a moment before frowning and writing his answer.

"_This is easy… this question is basically a recount of what I did last Sunday when I got attacked by those stupid mercenaries. Man… was that hard to explain to the client when I got lost…" _he looked up for a moment, thinking this through a little bit longer about whether or not his answer was liable or not. _"Wait… that can't be right. Screw it I'm writing profanity all over my sheet…"_

"_Well… isn't that interesting," _Sasuke sighed, sweating nervously as he closed his eyes to compose himself. _"I can't even begin to understand a single one of these problems…"_

Sakura sighed as she went over her test, answering the first question easily, then moving onto the second one, taking some time to look over it first before going on to answer it.

"_This test is surprisingly hard… harder then what I expected for Chunin…" _she looked around the room, towards the sentinels and towards Ibiki. However, she mostly focused on the sentinels, particularly Kotetsu, who had hi eyes focused on the area in front of him. Sakura raised an eyebrow, puzzled. _"I mean… come on… I've seen tests. No way can guys like Kotetsu answer these; he has the I.Q of a garden snake… no where near Perfect 10 smarts required for this test. So why… why are they making it so difficult for people to cheat…?"_

This was a thought that was running rampant throughout a whole bunch of other Genin's heads. The ones with a more open mind about these things were looking about, analyzing the sentinels, and taking everything they already know into account. While it took some time to sink in with the others, there were some who were just still plain wasting time.

Shikamaru was napping, Choji was rubbing his face into his sheet, Kiba was drawing faces all over the back of his, and Lee was giving his the death glare, wondering if he stared hard enough at it, the answers would appear right in his head. Temari was having a go at answering the questions, but was having trouble around five. Gaara, Shino and Neji, composed as ever, were attempting to solve the riddle of the exam's extreme difficulty at this point.

Though it seemed nothing was happening on the outside, things were, soon enough, going to explode into action…

While Naruto was busy drawing boobs and coming up with new swear words all over the sides of his exam sheet, realization suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks. He slapped himself in the face, but ended up jabbing the pencil in his eye.

"OWW! DAMMIT!"

"QUIET DOWN!" Ibiki shouted at him, with all the Genin jumping in their seats at the two sudden shouts. "ONE MORE OUTBURST AND YOU'RE OUT!"

Sakura giggled when she spotted Naruto nursing his now bruised eye, staring at his back as he cursed silently under his breath.

"_That's Naruto… hard at work and hurting himself while taking a written test…" _Sakura thought, shaking her head. _"Only he can do that… I guess he's figured out Question 1…"_

"_So that's what the __**real**__ first question is!" _Naruto thought, looking around at the sentinels, his hand over his bruised eye. _"Figure out the riddle behind the test! These questions are __**way**__ too difficult to answer for regular Genin, even Chunin! I highly doubt Chunin do this stuff out in the field, it's too technical. By the time they get to the practical stuff, they've wasted too much time." _Naruto glanced round at Ibiki, who was also monitoring the exam and acting as judge for the test environment. _"So if the real test involves us finding out the answers without getting caught, then the second question is to find out who has all the answers…"_

Sasuke, Shino, Hinata, Kiba, Tenten, Neji, Gaara and a handful of other ninjas had figured this out at roughly around the same time, if not in the same colorful manner as Naruto. So after about the first ten minutes of the test allowed them to reach this point, they then organized their time and began figuring out ways to infiltrate another person's test sheet, _acquire_ the answers, and not get caught by the sentinels surrounding them.

Gaara was fast at work, using his sand abilities to get his answers. Kankuro saw that his younger brother has figured out the riddle, and then began plotting his own way of acquiring the answers.

Having Akamaru on his head gave Kiba a telescopic advantage. As he concentrated on working on answering the test, his canine companion surveyed the area for answers. Spotting a potential one right in front of him, the dog leant in and yipped quietly. Knowing that a dog was going to bark on occasion, Kiba seemingly went on with his escapade unnoticed, grinning widely.

"Good boy… thanks a lot buddy," he whispered, smirking. "Now find me the next one…" Akamaru yipped back and began looking around for more answers.

The three Sound Ninja had their own unique ways of collecting data from the unsuspecting Genin candidates. They utilized sound waves, beats and frequencies to time the movements of their own pencils, and come up with words right in front of their eyes. This worked particularly well for Dosu, who took full advantage of this ability.

"_Judging by the rhythm… the duration and the frequency of the strokes… hmm… yes… that will do nicely…"_ the mummified, ghoul of a Sound Genin thought as he jotted down the words on the blank side of the exam paper.

Nobody paid real notice to a fly buzzing around them room, landing right next to test sheets with the most potential for positive answers, and watching people closely at work. However, it got shooed away none the less, eventually sweeping the room before making a stop at its owner. Shino held his finger out, and allowed his little companion to land safely on his nail.

"Well… show me…" Shino murmured. The fly flew up and began buzzing in circles, making complicated shapes and symbols at an angle that the bug user could easily see. He nodded his head and wrote down the numerical answers for Question 7. "8.2 kilometers… of course… it makes perfect sense…"

Unknown to him, somebody else was taking a peak at his sheet. Reflecting mirrors in the lights above helped illuminate the room with the florescent globes, making it easier to see. Tenten took advantage of the mirrors to help acquire the answers for herself; using her chakra nano wires to move them into the correct places. She did so inconspicuously, tying the wires to her fingers where her pencil was, and when moving it around, adjusted the angle of elevation to get a clearer shot of a person's sheet.

Spotting Lee several rows in front of her, she angled one of the light's mirrors in front of the boy, and moved it a bit to make sure he got it.

"_Come on Lee… when you see it… adjust your head band. Silent signals…"_ she thought, shifting her grip a bit.

Lee's fortune of answers flying right to him eventually came. Catching whiff of the sounds above him, he looked up, spotting the mirrors of the lights angling above him. He knew someone was trying to get to him, so when he saw the mirrors reflection on Shino's work and his answers, he signaled Tenten by adjusting his head band, quickly getting to work.

Naruto also quickly got to work, formulating his own strategy. Concentrating hard, he clapped his hands together and formed a series of hand seals, gaining control over his chakra.

"_By controlling the wind particles in the air with my chakra, I can refract it like glass… the perfect nano mirror only I can see…" _Naruto thought smirking. _"Basic principles behind chakra wire. I hope nobody notices the side effect…"_

In a few short seconds, the air in front of Naruto suddenly became denser as the particles came together to form solids. Moving the chakra through the air, he condensed it as much as possible, till the air suddenly became like a shattered mirror. Thinner then anyone else could see Naruto got a full upside-down, periscope view of the people behind him.

While he quickly gathered the answers, the Genin around him suddenly felt the air get chilly, and suddenly began warming themselves.

Neji got his own abilities down, in conjunction with Hinata. Both Hyuugas used their Byakugan to see through the people in front of them, and get the answers for themselves. Sasuke used his Sharingan, copying the exact movements of the pencil of the Genin in front of him. It worked out perfectly for the doejutsu users.

Shikamaru, remarkably enough, came up with the answer in his sleep, and, using a loose version of his Shadow Possession Jutsu, tapped into the guy in front of him, and mimicked his hand movements through it, writing up the answers as they came. Ino on the other hand, helped herself to some of the brainy kids, locking onto Sakura and getting a good look at her sheet, before passing on the answers to Choji.

The blind Kiri girl that was been picked on before the start of the exam was actually having a lot of trouble determining whether the table was her sheet or whether she was writing with the correct end of her pencil. She clumsily went about trying to accomplish this, with the sentinels clearly losing interest in her after a while. She eventually did start writing the answers and when she did, she surprisingly answered each and every one correctly. Her partner was more subtle on his approach.

The black haired boy simply continued to write on the piece of paper. Looking from left to right, he inhaled deeply and exhaled a small, white cloud, which hovered up and over the Genin situated in the rows in front of him. The small black cloud morphed and shifted into a small eye, which magnified several different exam sheets, giving him a clear view of his objectives.

Around halfway past the exam time, Kankuro left to go to the bathroom, escorted out by a rather rigid looking Chunin. In the meantime, Gaara was working on his own way of getting answers without getting caught, sending particles of sand in all directions and, after putting off people with a few grains of sand to the eye, produced a sand made eye above their test sheets and memorized the answers, before writing them down.

Then there was the lead Genin of the Kirigakure team. For the first half hour, he sat there, staring at the first question, not really doing anything. At first the sentinels thought he was as cool as a cucumber, before thinking if he was stroking off or something. But then, suddenly, out of the blue, he started writing, moving from the first question, to the second, and then to the others.

Throughout the entire duration of the exam, random Genin from here and there were called for cheating and thrown out. Those who put up a fight against the sentinels were quickly and painfully dispatched, before they marched out of the place. The proctor was satisfied to see a great majority of the Genins high tail it out of the room, particularly the weaker ones. It was a pretty enlightening sight for him. But then, eventually, the first forty-five minutes went past, and in the fifteen minutes to exam time-out, Ibiki called for their attention.

"Alright! Listen up! I'm going to be dealing out the tenth and final question," Ibiki shouted, drawing everyone's attention towards him. Around this time, Kankuro decided to rejoin the group, and quietly slunk back to his seat, but not before passing by Temari and dropping a small piece of paper for her. Seeing the Sand Sibling take his seat, Ibiki smirked and continued. "There are some new rules to Question 10… so listen carefully."

Naruto yawned and propped his head on his hand, staring dazedly at the head Interrogator.

"_Why am I suddenly craving green eggs and ham…?"_ Naruto blinked when he realized the thoughts going through his head. _"What? Where the hell did that come from?"_

"Rule Number 1… you are free to choose whether or not to take the tenth and final question, it's your decision." It was this statement that perplexed a lot of the students, and for those who hadn't fully grasped the concept of cheating, gave the Genin more to mellow over while they took the final stages of this part of the exam. "Be warned. Choosing not to take the tenth question, regardless of the other nine, means you will get a zero, and will ultimately be disqualified from participating in the rest of the exam. Ultimately… if you do choose to take the tenth question, know this…" He hardened his best glare on the crowds, grinning widely. "If you get the tenth question wrong, you will not only be disqualified, but you will never be allowed to participate in the Chunin Exams ever again!"

"Hey man! That's bogus!" Kiba shouted, pointing at the proctor. "What kind of a stupid question is that? What the hell was the point of the other nine when we're getting this live or die question at the end of the whole damn thing?"

"It's basically 50/50 with this one…" Temari murmured.

"There is always a trick to the last question," Sakura murmured to herself, rubbing her chin. "It's common occurence in particular tests and exams. Man… I'm starting to doubt myself on this one…"

"Of course," Ibiki continued, smirking and turning towards the window to his right. "If you don't want to take the tenth question, you don't have to. If you're not feeling confident, then by all means skip it. You can come back and try again next year…so…" The man shrugged his shoulders, chuckling. "Any takers?"

The next few minutes saw an immediate drop out of potential candidates, who left the room in flocks. It was then, while Ibiki and the sentinels were giving everybody else the silent treatment, the blond about a couple rows up spoke up, venting his stress after close to an hour of sitting around and getting numb legs for sitting so long on such uncomfortable chairs.

"The hell with next year_," _Naruto shouted, laying his head on the table and groaning. _"_I'm not going through this shit again! I've got a cramp in my leg and I'm starving! I'm moving forward, and _you_ can't stop me! Tenth question or not!" The boy leant back in his seat, hands behind his head as he kicked his feet up onto the table. _"Why did I suddenly go all gung-ho? Must be my inner spunk kicking in…"_

Of course, that unintended outburst gave a lot of the others a little bit more back bone, and a great majority of this Genin group decided to stick it out, including the Rookie Nine. Sakura smiled at Naruto's short rant and nodded in his direction, Hinata also greatly admiring his spirit. If not the approval of other Genin, the boy did attract a lot of other eyes, who thought him both a brave man and a fool.

"_He's definitely lightened up more since the last time we met," _Sasuke thought, smirking. _"Interesting… what could turn a guy like Naruto from a soulless killing machine on the battlefield to a loudmouth so easily? He's literally playing jump rope over that fine line between cold as ice and idiotic…"_

"_The same old Naruto from the Academy… first he disappears for a while then reappears. It's like my old classmate nightmares are coming back to haunt me," _Shikamaru thought, smirking. _"Ah… it's too much of a bother to think about it…"_

"_He's always been spontaneous," _Ino thought, smirking. _"Not like Sasuke or any other guy I've met. First he's a whiny kid with a big mouth… then he turns all cool… what is up with that?"_

Ibiki raised an eyebrow, seeing that no one else was throwing in the towel. Taking a glance over at the sentinels to the side, who nodded to him in response, the head ANBU Interrogator smirked and looked back to the crowds of Genin.

"Alright then… congratulations to all of you who decided to stay…" Ibiki plain out and said it. "You all passed the First Part of the Chunin Exam…"

Silence fell across the room as all the Genin stared at him.

It wasn't long till strings of complaints and questions began flying in his direction.

"What the? What does that mean?" Kiba shouted.

"Where's the tenth question?" Sakura asked.

Ibiki grinned, then laughed out loud, clearly amused. "There wasn't one… well… not on paper. It was simply a wool pulled over the eyes tactic, to get you to try and see through deception, and look underneath the underneath!" The ANBU exclaimed, smirking as he looked over the remaining candidates. "In reality, it is the tenth question that determines whether you pass or fail… it's just that simple…"

"Wait a second!" Temari shouted, sitting up. "Does that mean the rest of the test was pointless?"

"No… no… it was just used to weed out the weaklings and incompetent ones," Ibiki explained. "If you've already figured it out, the _real_ test for you was to strategically and carefully acquire information from the other candidates, and because it was a test based on your teamwork and individual abilities, your team was tested and pass or fail determined based on the overall skill and tact of the group. The questions on your test were far too difficult for any Genin such as yourselves to answer… more around Jonin or ANBU level questions. The test was designed to encourage cheating, but on a different level to simple glance and copy."

"Those who were fool to get caught cheating failed. Better to cheat, then to cheat clumsily…" Ibiki stated.

"Just like you at poker last month, right Ibiki?" Naruto exclaimed, grinning boldly.

"Exactly like tha…w-wait…what?" the man glared over at the blonde, who gave him the peace sign.

"You don't need to play the cheating game with me! I know a bluff when I see one," Naruto said, before winking at him. "B.T.W… back then, I had a pair of deuces… not a full house…"

"You play poker with that guy?" the Genin sitting next to Naruto asked. The blonde smiled in his direction and nodded.

"Oh yeah… he's good, but not that good. I won his whole week's salary from him in one night," Naruto stated.

"That reminds me, you owe me two-hundred ryu Naruto... from our last game!" Kotetsu called across the room.

"Moving on," Ibiki grumbled, clearing his throat. _"Geez… why does Anko's student have to be so irritating?"_ "Information can be the most valuable thing in battle. It can determine the lives of your comrades, the rise or fall of a nation… or even decide whether you live or die. Enemy ninja will do anything in their power to acquire that information… anything…" The man unwrapped his bandana and showed his head underneath, an assortment of battle scars, burn marks and puncture holes dotted all over his scalp. Everyone in the room cringed in shock, accept for those who were passive towards such sights, have experienced similar stuff, or were just plain mocking their way through this whole thing.

"_Well duh… it's not going to heal if you don't stop picking at it…" _Naruto thought. "_First time I saw it, I nearly lost my lunch…"_ The blonde then barfed in his mouth, but swallowed it. _"Man that's an unpleasant sight…"_

"Consider the source of the information gathered, because it may not necessarily be accurate or correct," Ibiki stated, wrapping up his head again. "The value of information is put higher then money or power, because it is worth more then both combined. That is why… those who failed in acquiring the information intelligently were kicked out; leaving the rest of you. The tenth question was ultimately meant to be a no win situation, testing your will power and your teammates. In the heat of battle and on dangerous missions, the only people you can count on are your teammates… so you pass or fail this test, as a team…"

Everybody listened in, as he made his final statement to them all.

"Being a Chunin, means you have responsibilities, not just as individuals, but as a team. Whether or not you choose to proceed with a mission that seems suicidal doesn't matter. What matters are the final goals and the steps to achieving them! Completing your mission as a group, working alongside your comrades to accomplish your goals, through courage, discipline and teamwork, these are the qualities required for a true Chunin Squad Leader. You must put the safety and wellbeing of your comrades and your village above your own," Ibiki stated. "For those of you who have stayed, you have earned the right to move on to the Second Stage of this Exam…"

Right on queue, or before that, the window to everyone's left suddenly shattered, and what looked to be a crumpled up sack flew into their midst. In the blink of an eye it burst open, a banner unveiling the second proctor of the exam. Ibiki sighed as he was canvassed out, and Anko Mitarashi made her appearance.

"Alright you maggots!" Anko shouted, striking a pose. "The easy part is over! Now the real fight begins! I am Anko Mitarashi, Elite ANBU of Konohagakure, and I will be proctoring the Second Stage of this Exam!"

Naruto and Sakura groaned and tried to look as small as possible to hide away from their energetic teacher. Hinata simply sat where she was, watching curiously as the purple haired Snake Jonin made her cinematic introduction.

"_Oh no… kill me now…" _Sakura thought.

Ibiki came around the banner and stared at her. "You jumped the gun…"

Anko frowned and blushed in embarrassment, before glaring out the window. Suddenly, Mia's head popped up alongside Zabuza, both of them looking through the shattered window and into the room curiously.

"Are you alright?" Zabuza asked.

"Did we do it okay this time?" Mia also asked.

"No! You idiots catapulted me in too early!" Anko shouted, pointing accusingly at her temporary crew.

"_**Sorry**_…" Mia and Zabuza apologized in unison before ducking away, with Mia waving goodbye to everybody in the room

"_Who is this weirdo?" _a whole bunch of Genin, including, Kankuro, Temari, Tenten and Neji, thought, their eyes plainly fixated on the trench coated shinobi.

Anko shook her head and looked over at the crowds. "Well… a bigger group then I expected, Ibiki… you _must_ be getting soft," the woman said, smirking at her fellow ANBU. The man shrugged back in response. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. Over half of them will be gone by the time I'm through with them…"

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	31. The Second Test

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_The Second Test_

_**Outside of Training Ground 44…**_

"Oh no… not _back_ _**here**_!" Naruto groaned loudly at the familiar sight of the _Forest of Death's_ gates standing right in front of him, dividing them from the massive, forbidden, poisonous creature filled forest of trees beyond. The blonde shinobi collapsed to his knees in despair. "God… I take field trips to this place! It's like all the ninja I've ever killed in the past is suddenly coming back to haunt me! Why is Konoha filled with such dangerous _things_? WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING TO ME?"

Sakura and Hinata knelt next to him. In their attempts to comfort him, they too became distraught and started crying as they stared up at the familiar gates.

"I feel like I'm being reintroduced to my worst nightmares over and over again…" Sakura groaned.

"Death is so biased…" Hinata muttered.

As the three of them group-hugged pathetically, Anko, through snickers and laughs, began explaining the procedure to the remaining candidates. The Rookie Nine shook their heads at Naruto and his two teammates over by the fence, but tried to pay more attention to their proctor for this stage of the exam.

"…so that's it… your primary objective is to acquire both the Heaven Scroll and the Earth Scroll. Once you've gotten your hands on both, you must then get to the tower in the center of this forest with your entire team intact and before the five days are up, in order to pass," Anko stated, looking out towards all the faces staring at her. "Three rules concerning disqualification. First one: if all three members aren't able to acquire both scrolls and make it to the tower within the allotted time. Second rule: if a team member is killed or incapacitated and cannot continue. The third and perhaps the most important rule: you must not under any circumstances open any of the scrolls till you've reached the tower!"

"It just gets worse and worse, doesn't it?" Ino asked.

"It's definitely a drag, that's for sure," Shikamaru groaned.

"Survival is the key to this," Neji said, looking over at his teammates. "This is a simulation for a real life mission, a mission expected of Chunin and Jonin to complete…"

"A most interesting test indeed!" Lee exclaimed, flashing a grin. Tenten sighed and rubbed her forehead in response to her two teammates.

"_Seriously, these two take things to much in stride…" _she mumbled.

"Now… once you've filled out the death wavers and consent forms I have given you, go over to _that_ registration booth," Anko instructed, pointing towards the stall where three Chunin were sitting and waiting patiently. "There, you will be given your _one_ scroll for your test. After which, pick a gate, and we'll start the exam…"

The teams then quickly filled out their forms, and given the small amount of time they were given, were left to ponder over the test to come. This meant more tension roused from the 20 plus teams that were present, with everybody now isolating themselves from one another, and sticking to their teammates. Of course, everybody kept a greater distance between them and the Kiri team, who was standing off under a tree, glaring at the competition.

Once the registration scrolls were filled up, the teams moved in to collect their scrolls, with Anko monitoring them outside the canvassed booth. When Team 7 came in, forms in hand and smiles on their faces, the Snake Jonin grinned at them and nodded.

"Good luck you cry babies," she whispered in her own, unique way of showing affection to her students. "I know you'll do well…"

"Thanks sensei," Sakura replied.

"We won't let you down," Hinata also said as she passed.

"I can guarantee we will get first place, sensei," Naruto whispered, nodding to his teacher politely.

Anko smirked. "We'll see…"

Team 7 slunk into the both, handing in their paperwork. The Chunin who received their forms then handed them their Heaven Scroll, both Sakura and Hinata taking a look at it. Naruto looked it over before then handing it over to Sakura, who slipped it into her pouch.

"Keep it safe…"

"Will do," the pink haired kunoichi replied. Naruto nodded then turned to Hinata, smiling.

"Ready?"

His girlfriend nodded back, and together, the two of them headed round to find a gate. They chose one away from everybody else, knowing full well that everybody would be doing the same. They got Gateway 12, close to the center, and dead in line with the tower. It was only a matter of heading straight for it, while acquiring a scroll on the way there.

Naruto reached round to and adjusted his gauntlets, as well as his weight bands, tipping the straw hat he wore up with a grin.

"Let's give it our best, Sakura-chan…Hinata-chan," he exclaimed. The two girls nodded to him.

"And if that Venus flytrap shows itself…" Sakura said, bringing a kunai around and twirling it between her fingers. "It better watch out…"

"Let's be strong… okay," Hinata nodded her head, smiling brightly.

All teams, now aware of the coming storm, became more on edge and even wearier of the forest ahead of them, along with what dangers and obstacles lay in wait. Excitement floated alongside fear, the air steadily growing thicker.

"Let's just try and stay as far away from Naruto's team as possible," Shikamaru murmured, looking over at Ino and Choji, to see them nod their heads in agreement. The entire Team 10 stood outside of Gateway 47, waiting for the signal to start. "If this test is as seriously troublesome as that crazy proctor says… then Naruto _will_ kill us without a second thought…"

"Man… why does it have to be like this?" Ino murmured, now feeling a bit less confident about her abilities.

Outside of Gate 36, the Sand Siblings waited patiently, looking into the forest. Amidst the silence, the scents of excitement, determination and planning hovered around them. They obviously thought ahead before each situation, and it showed in their communication. Perhaps this was one of the reasons why they were selected to participate in the exams in the first place.

"Our first objective is the Earth Scroll," Gaara murmured, his brother and sister nodding.

"Let's stick it through you two," Temari stated, patting her older brother on the shoulder. "And not get killed…"

The Kirigakure Team stood outside Gate Number 5, keeping in perfect formation around their team leader, who remained silent throughout the whole thing. His black haired teammate licked his lips eagerly, while their blind friend stood quietly on the side, fidgeting nervously.

"I can taste the fear," the cannibalistic dark haired Genin exclaimed, obviously excited. "I shall assimilate the first team we come across, regardless of the scroll…"

Team Gai stood outside of Gate Entrance 60, Lee's eyes burning brightly with a passion, while his teammates stood to the side, smiling at their fortune.

"_This is it! Soon, everybody will come to know the name, Rock Lee!"_ the fuzzy browed Genin exclaimed, punching the air in front of him.

Sasuke's team stood patiently outside of Gate 20, smirks on their faces and, all things considered with their skill set, they were confident that they would be able to get through this no problem. The only one who wasn't saying anything, doing anything or smiling out anything was Shino, who seemed to be more intoned with the environment to show off any hints of excitement.

"YAHOO! We rock at survival!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Let's keep a clear head through this one," Sasuke grinned.

All the way over at Gateway 32, three Grass shinobi crouched at their gate, looking into the forest with sneers and grins. Obviously, given the tension and atmosphere around them, these three had other, more important motives.

"Anything goes, right?" the long haired, female ninja of the team exclaimed, a purple rope belt around his waist, securing his beige tunic and clothes. "Remember the plan…"

"We have our orders," Dosu of the Sound Team, standing in front of Gate 6 said, looking back at his two teammates. "Do not fail. We are expected to find the one known as Sasuke Uchiha, and eliminate him!"

Zaku grinned and glared over at Kin, who fidgeted a bit when they both turned to her. "Don't hesitate… and don't screw up. Remember, we don't stick around for anybody!"

The girl nodded, looking nervously into the forest. Zaku and Dosu easily noticed the sweat dripping down her face, and the two of them, though they were only assigned this team for their secret mission, turned towards their comrade. She was acting stranger then usual, and it was messing up the air they were attempting to convey.

"What's got you all jumbled up, Kin?" Dosu asked, raising his only visible eyebrow.

"I… don't really know…" she replied, looking into the forest. "It's just that… I have this… weird feeling that… something else is in that forest…" She gulped, feeling a wind from between the trees pass right through her. "Something… bad…"

Everybody was at their gates, waiting patiently. Unfortunately, the mood that had settled with Kin, also suddenly settled with Naruto. A cold gust of wind drew Naruto's attention towards the forest and trees in front of him. He furrowed his brow as he gazed into the darkness beyond, the sound of animals going quiet, signifying something was up. Sakura and Hinata felt it a few seconds later, all three of them glaring into the woods.

"Feel that?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah…" Hinata whispered.

"But what is it?" Sakura queried.

"I think… I left something in the forest… the last time we were here…" Naruto replied eerily, unsettling his teammates.

* * *

The bell sounded minutes later, and with that, every gate flew open, and the Genin were off. One by one, the teams entered the forest and took to the trees, gaining the high ground advantage immediately, and quickly beginning their hunt for the other teams, as well as the scrolls. In threes, the groups descended into the darkness beyond the thickets of vines, branches, bushes, shrubs, high grass and tree trunks. There was no room for error here, no room for screw ups, and no room for mistakes.

Make the wrong move, and it'd cost you…

Naruto, Sakura and Hinata stopped on a large branch a few minutes in, overlooking several clearing for the best vantage points. They looked around, triangulating their position on the branch and watching all sides. The spiky haired blonde took in everything, from the higher branches above them, to every rock and bush, before looking over at his other teammates.

"Hinata… see anything?"

"Not yet…" she replied. She activated her Byakugan, her eyes flaring as the side veins pumped chakra into her eyes, enhancing her view ten fold. "All teams have just left the gates and are on the hunt. That gives us a five minute window of opportunity… at the most…" Sakura looked over as well.

"No one's around at the moment though. The other teams must be some ways up ahead…" the pink haired kunoichi stated. "We can use the time we have to our advantage."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Alright then… let's see. Rather then going off looking for a fight, how about we try something more _**subtle**_ to get our hands on a scroll? Lets see… flat terrain, plenty of trees, lots of hiding spots… low branches… thick shrubbery… leaves…"

After a few seconds of careful thought, planning and analysis, a smirk crossed the blonde's lips as a practical, if not basic, idea came to mind. In response to his thoughts, he looked over at his teammates, who also had similar smirks on their faces.

"Got an idea, have you?" Sakura asked. Hinata and Sakura shared grins with their blonde teammate, who pulled out a roll of wire from his pouch.

"Something that just might work…"

* * *

The three of them got to work, quickly moving about the area to set their trap. They managed to create functioning devices out of their surroundings and whatever they had one them in the nick of time, and once that was accomplished, they all hid in their respective places, choosing to go one on one and three on one if necessary.

Hiding amidst the thick vegetation, the three members of Team 7 lay in wait for another team to come around. The entire clearing beneath the tree they had landed on was laced with all sorts of cleverly disguised traps for hundreds of meters in all directions, with Naruto, Sakura and Hinata knowing exactly where their own were.

Eventually, three Amegakure shinobi arrived on the scene in search of another team with a scroll they were looking for. The rogue group wore khaki spandex outfits, obviously water proof, with shin and arm guards and gauze wrappings, with breathing apparatuses and masks hiding their true identities. They looked like a particularly tough group, the hidden members of Team 7 taking in their targets and their weaponry, determining their class and ranking.

The three of Amegakure ninja landed in the area and looked around in a quick sweep. Telltale signs told them that someone was here recently, and they were quick to get on the trail. The leader of the group used hand signs and gestures in correspondence with his orders.

"Fan out and search this area! They couldn't have gone far!" he said in a voice that was made metallic and raspy by the breathing apparatus. His two cronies nodded in response, and fanned out over the area, one of them taking the high ground, the other the shrubs, and the other leader down the middle, his flanks covered.

The moment the Rain Nin known as Mubi hit the trees, crossbow in hand and held at the ready, he was immediately hit. Sakura, perched on the branch above, swung down and, grabbing him by the head and covering his mouth, pulled him up. She held and applied pressure around his neck and head, quickly cutting off circulation in both air and nerve, causing him to pass out. She pulled him up into the trees where they both disappeared.

Kagari was hit next. Wandering about ten minutes into the bushes, he suddenly tripped a wire and got pulled up by his foot by a robe and flung into the trees. A small yell was followed by a loud thud when he swung into an overhanging branch and was knocked out. The rope broke and fell into the bushes and into a pit dug out by Hinata. The girl was waiting at the bottom, and searched him the moment his unconscious body disappeared into the bushes.

This left only Oboro. As he was heading down the space carefully, he suddenly came across a kunai lodged in a tree trunk with a wire strung across. Smirking at the 'amateur' trap work, he ducked under it and stepped over another, low hanging wire.

"Too easy…"

However, he didn't count on one wire being directly under the shadow of the one above, and tripped it. The moment he did, a log was tripped from its position in the trees in front of him. It swung down and hit him head long with the force of a train, and flung him a good twenty meters through the air, before he tumbled across the ground to a stop.

"Argh! Dammit…"

"Why, hello there," Naruto exclaimed, standing directly in front of the young adult with his arms folded. He crouched down in front of the Amegakure Genin and smirked at Oboro, who glared angrily up at the blonde. "So…where's that Earth Scroll, aye?"

"I'm not telling you anything!" the man growled back.

Sakura and Hinata landed on the ground behind him, and the two approached, now all three members of Team 7 glaring down at the Ame shinobi with smirks on their faces.

"This one giving you trouble, Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked.

"Apparently…" the blonde replied, grinning. He raised his right arm and flicked his wrist, hidden blade flashing into view. He then held it right at the man's face, making his next point absolutely clear. The Ame ninja sweated bullets when the tip of the blade tapped his nose. "Now… I'm not going to ask you again…"

* * *

About five minutes later, Oboro was found dangling unconscious twenty feet above the ground in a rope net with his two unconscious teammates, all three of them swinging gracefully in the breeze.

Naruto, Sakura and Hinata nowhere to be found, having left the scene the moment they acquired their second scroll. In fact, it was Team 10 who came across the three trapped shinobi several minutes later, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio averting their gaze and looking up in surprise at the Amegakure Genin.

They blinked in unison at the groaning sack of three bodies…

"Well… I think it is okay to assume at this point that they no longer have their scroll on them," Choji said, munching on a bag of chips. Shikamaru sighed in frustration, while Ino followed the swinging of the net from side to side.

"Boy… they had their butts whooped…"

"Must have been Naruto's team…" Shikamaru added, placing his hands on his hips. Ino looked over at him.

"How do you know that?"

Shikamaru pointed towards the tree to their left. When Ino and Choji looked to where he was pointing, they all developed animated sweat drops when saw that the tree trunk had graffiti written on it. A picture of a chibi Team 7 was standing together with their tongues poking out and peace signs presented, with the words; _'Brought to you by Team Kickass'_ inscribed beneath it.

"Geez… we're struggling here and _they're_ having fun!" Ino muttered.

* * *

_**Elsewhere…**_

About three kilometers in, the Grass shinobi from earlier before were still in such of their chosen targets. They were after Team 8, specifically the member Sasuke Uchiha. Landing in a small clearing beside a network of overhanging tree roots from huge, towering strangler fig trees, Team Shiore stood in perfect formation and analyzed the respective area, before gathering in for a brief on their plans ahead.

"That team with the Uchiha kid should be passing by here at any moment," the oversized, toad looking man with big lips and rings around his eyes informed, looking over at the team leader. "What is your plan of action, Lord Orochimaru?"

"Why… simple… divide-and-conquer…" the long haired girl replied, licking her lips excitedly. Her elongated tongue drew a nice, fine line of saliva along her upper-lip. "We only want Sasuke-kun… so lets separate him from his teammates…"

"Sounds reasonable," the skinny man in the mask replied.

"You two will split up and kill the other two members of his team once I've separated them," Orochimaru stated, walking forward and heading straight up. He extended his arms, preparing to unleash a long-range jutsu that would knock out the three boys when they came around. "Do what you will with his comrades… leave Sasuke-kun for me."

"Of course… sir… GARH!" A loud bone crunching snap was heard as the bulky, toad looking man's chest exploded outwards when a black blade pierced him though his back, splattering blood over Orochimaru's back.

Orochimaru looked back to see what had happened, a little bit surprised as he watched one of his team members get lifted two feet off of the ground by an unknown force, twitching with blood pouring from his mouth. The man's masked teammate spun around, drawing a kurai in response to the threat, but suddenly had his face grabbed and crushed by an invisible hand, and he too was lifted off of the ground. A split second later, the skinny man had his soul ripped from his body and sucked away into oblivion, and the fat one was tossed aside like a rag doll, heart punctured and useless. He hit the ground with a disgusting thud, as more blood poured out of him.

Orochimaru hardened and glare and turned around, facing whatever it was that had decided to interrupt him.

"Show yourself…" he (or in the case of his disguise, she) hissed.

Foot steps were heard as the invisible figure stepped forward, forming imprints in the grass and blood. Seconds later, the cloaking over the figure revealed a tall, sixteen year old male wearing ANBU armor, a bloody, clawed right hand, syringes on his left hand, Akatsuki cloak around his waist, and no mask. A spiky haired blonde stepped out of the shadows, face in stitches, and a blood red Sharingan in his right eye, and Rinnegan in his left. Orochimaru immediately expressed great surprise at the appearance of the individual and stepped back.

"An adversary consisting of powerful doejutsu and interesting ninjutsu…" Orochimaru grinned as the figure glared at him. "How interesting…"

Dark Naruto tilted his head at the snake lady, and blinked, left eye first, then right eye. His raspy breathing was quite haunting.

"_**Orochi…maru…" **_the young adult boy hissed, in a deep, gravely voice.

"Well… I can see that my disguise does not fool those eyes… I appear to be at a disadvantage here," Orochimaru stated, reached back and drawing a curved kunai blade from his pouch. "Or… so it seems…"

The clawed teen raised his left hand and pointed with one of his syringes at the disguised ninja.

"…"

"Apparently, you cannot speak very much… or very well for a mindless brute," Orochimaru whispered, smirking. "I will have the pleasure of cutting out those eyes for myself…"

In the blink of an eye, Dark Naruto lunged in a blur motion, slashing with its black katana. Orochimaru ducked it and, grinning, grabbing the boy by the shoulder and drove his curved kunai right into his chest. The bone crunching blow lifted the blonde a couple of feet in a jolt, and the Snake Sannin grinned when, in just the opening seconds, the fight was over.

Or… so Orochimaru thought…

Dark Naruto looked up at Orochimaru, glaring at him through empty eyes. Orochimaru glared back with a sly grin.

"Oh… fascinating…"

He yanked his blade out and leapt back, just as Dark Naruto swiped at him with his clawed hand, lightning incasing it and zapping around him. The electricity ran up and down his whole arm, as he straightened up, revealing a gaping hole in his chest. It eventually closed up when metallic wires crisscrossed to cover the wound and heal it. Orochimaru grinned as he watched the teen heal himself.

"You're immune to damage…" Orochimaru whispered. "You siphon impure thoughts, hatred and dark chakra from your surroundings to feed you strength and keep you alive… I am familiar with that technique…" The disguised Snake stood up, grinning. "You're feeding off of my chakra at this very second, aren't you?"

Dark Naruto straightened up, bones cracking as he stretched his neck, then his arms. Suddenly, purple chakra could be seen radiating off of his body. Orochimaru looked on in surprise when he suddenly saw black, twisting patterns form on his skin, starting from his chest, all the way up his neck and down his visible arms. He blinked when he recognized the chakra, as well as the patterns.

"The Cursed Seal of Heaven… hmm?" Orochimaru grinned. "You've implanted it on yourself to give you strength. But what are you going to do with all that chakra?"

Just then, the black markings vanished, and what appeared to be a lightning storm and clouds began appearing around Dark Naruto's body. As the black clouds enveloped him, lightning shot off and around his body through the clouds. Throwing both hands forward, electricity shot like whips and weapons right out at Orochimaru, who back-flipped away to avoid the currents of electricity. The lightning tore up the ground and burnt grass as it bolted through the air, and seconds later, it stopped, with lightning still crackling off of the user's body, who continued glaring at his opponent.

"I know what you want…" Orochimaru exclaimed, recognizing the young male's appearance as the one from earlier in the First Stage of the Exam. He spotted him ages ago. "You want your original host body… don't you?"

Dark Naruto paused for a moment, the lightning storm around him disappearing. It blinked when he heard what the enemy ninja in front of him said, and he tilted his head and frowned, still breathing heavily.

"_**I… want…"**_

"Yes… what do you want?" Orochimaru asked, grinning widely.

"_**I… want…"**_

The Kusa Nin disguised Sannin waited patiently for the Dark Naruto to come to an answer. It took it longer then expected from such a formidable fighter and a lot of speech correcting, but it eventually formulated an answer.

"_**I… w-want…" **_His face suddenly began changing and shifting, the sound of bones crunching and crackling could be heard, and Orochimaru watched in interest as a Forbidden Jutsu was used by this abomination of a shinobi. A few seconds later, and after some painful changing and facial reconstruction, Dark Naruto turned back to Orochimaru, with half of his face transformed. The Snake Sannin saw that the right side of Dark Naruto's face had transformed into a young girl's face, one with pink hair and green eyes. _**"I… want… S-Sakura…"**_

"I see…" Orochimaru exclaimed. "You wish to reacquaint yourself with a new host body…or…" The Snake ninja hunched an eyebrow. "Is it something else…?"

The Dark Naruto stepped towards him, raising his syringe hand. However, the Snake Sannin grinned and stepped aside, pointing in some random direction, to which the dark phantom glanced in.

"You want her… then you will find her in _that_ direction…" Orochimaru said.

Dark Naruto completely ignored the Snake Sannin, and activated one of his doejutsu. The Sharingan eye morphed into Kakashi's Mangekyo, and in a blink, the phantom got sucked into a slip-space black hole and vanished. The Snake Sannin watched him leave and grinned, a single bead of sweat running down at the side of his face.

"_Well… that was terrifying…" _he thought, his grin lowering a bit. _"Lucky… if I was to continue fighting that brainless manifestation…I would surely have lost several lives…"_

_

* * *

_

_**Further into the Forest…**_

The Sound Genin Team was sitting around a clearing some ways away from anybody else's position, hoping to ambush another team that might come around. Dosu, Zaku and Kin, all of them were fanned out and were either sitting or standing, all three of them coming up with a strategy to help them achieve their objective.

"If Sasuke is our target, then why aren't we going after them, huh?" Zaku grumbled, twirling a kunai in his hand. Dosu looked over at his teammate, his expression one of annoyance. "Sitting around like this is stupid…"

"We just got into the forest Zaku… we have plenty of time," Dosu replied, turning towards his bored teammate. "Rushing into battle is not a wise choice. Lord Orochimaru must first take care of things on his end, before we can move in…"

"I still say it's a load of crap," Zaku replied, frowning. "I can kill Sasuke right now if I wanted to! Waiting around is just wasting precious energy I could be using on him."

"We must locate him first, before we move in…" Dosu shot back. "This is why Lord Orochimaru assembled us in the first place, because we are his best students, fully capable of handling whatever comes our way. Analyzing our opponent and finding his weaknesses are what we must achieve first, before moving on to our primary objective!"

He then looked in Kin's direction, the girl was sitting against the side of the tree, huddled up and shivering. The boy wrapped in gauze furrowed his brow at her and approached, coming to stand in front of the girl.

"Pathetic, Kin," Dosu whispered, the girl looking up at him, sweat running down her face. "What? Did you catch a fever or something? If you faint or collapse, there's no way we're carrying you all the way to the tower…"

"Oh, lighten up on her, Dosu," Zaku groaned. "Don't pick on her just because she's ill or afraid. Girls are like that sometimes…"

"I-It's not that I'm sick or anything," Kin replied, rubbing her arms up her shoulder sand looking away. "It's just… I can't stop shaking for some reason. Ever since we came here, I've been feeling… cold…"

Dosu furrowed his brow. _"Could it be something physically wrong with her… or mentally wrong? Either way… something has got her trembling…"_

"Perhaps it is best that we find higher, safer ground to plan our next move," Dosu said, turning to Zaku. "Come…"

"Right…"

A rustling in the trees caught their attention before they could get a move on, Dosu, Zaku and Kin quickly rising to their feet and rounding on the bushes behind them. When they did, a loud scream was heard, and unexpectedly, much to their surprise, a random Amegakure shinobi came running out, covered in blood and terrified. He ran right in between the three sound ninja, screaming his head off.

"RUN! HE'S A MONSTER! A MONSTER!" He disappeared seconds later into the bushes on the other side of the clearing.

Shocked, the three Sound shinobi turned back towards where he came from, where they saw a tall Genin walking into view. Backing away, the three of them readied their weapons, Kin clutching a cluster of senbon, Zaku his kunai, and Dosu his sound wave gauntlet. They watched and waited as the figure walked out of the bushes. As soon as he stepped into the light, they saw that it was another Amegakure ninja, wearing a poncho with sun umbrellas on his back and stitches on his face. His expression was pretty empty, and he had a splatter of blood on his face.

"Oh… it's just a punk kid messing around," Zaku exclaimed, grinning and standing up straight. Dosu chuckled in amusement, while Kin breathed a sigh of relief.

"Just what we needed… competition," Dosu said, pointing towards the ninja. "You wish to challenge us after trying to scare us… boy?"

"Don't mess with the Sound Ninja!" Zaku shouted cockily. "We'll cut you down before you even have the chance to make a move…"

Of course, as soon as Zaku said 'cut you down', the Amegakure shinobi's legs in front of them suddenly fell away, along with his pelvic region. His lower half of his body fell to the ground while his top half remained suspended in the air, his guts and innards pouring out onto the floor in front of the Sound Genin, all of them backing away in shock. Then, all of a sudden, the top half keeled over, revealing a shadowy figure behind the lifeless corpse.

When the top half hunched over, the unmasked Dark Naruto had his clawed hand wrist deep in the dead boy's back, and the Sound Ninja got a rather disturbing view of the blonde ninja ripping the spin and skull from the top half of the dead ninja. After doing that, he tossed both items away, covered in blood, yet able to keep a straight face.

"WHOA!" Zaku shouted. "WHAT THE HELL MAN! THAT'S NASTY!"

"GET BACK! NOW!" Dosu ordered, all three of them leaping away to put distance between them and their blood covered opponent.

Dark Naruto completely unveiled himself from the shadows, dragging another corpse by the leg in his right hand. However, this corpse wasn't a fully covered one, it was skinned. The muscles and blood of another shinobi he had cut down, without skin or clothes. The Sound Genin cringed when he tossed that body as well, now focusing attention on them.

"Quick work…" Dosu murmured.

"Wait… isn't that…" Zaku recognized the face of the blonde haired shinobi as the one that took the first part of the exam, only now he looked older, colder and particularly more blood thirsty. The spiky haired punk gritted his teeth and took a defensive stance. "You're that blonde loudmouth from the written exams! What the hell are you doing? Skinning your opponents! That's too gory, even for a ninja!"

The phantom furrowed its brow and pointed its clawed hand in their direction.

"_**E…ne…my…" **_the twisted teen gargled…

"On your toes!" Dosu said, looking left and right at his teammates. He noticed Kin was looking even more freaked out. "He's going to attack!"

"NOT BEFORE I DO!" Zaku roared, tossing his kunai at the blonde. The ninja simply moved his head to avoid it, but missed when the brown haired boy leapt in front of both Dosu and Kin, throwing both his hands in front of him, forming a small number of hand seals, before taking aim with his cannons. "Get back! _SUPERSONIC SLICING WINDS_!"

A shockwave, followed by a loud explosion as a massive blast of wind shot out of the boy's hands, propelling straight for his blonde target at super sonic speed. The initial blast wave tore up the ground as it charged down the Dark Naruto, who saw the attack coming at him in super slow motion.

Bringing his hand up to meet it, the Sharingan-Rinnegan shinobi widened its eyes, and pumped chakra down his arm, intercepting the attack with his own.

"_**Shinra Tensei!" **_The shockwave of gravitational force to follow produced a particle barrier around the blonde, which ultimately expanded and rendered the Sonic Wave attack useless. The attack fired by Zaku simply went around him, destroying the surrounding environment and cutting a deep trench straight across the ground. Seconds later, it was over, and Dark Naruto was still standing as if nothing had happened.

Zaku stood speechless, his arms going numb from unleashing his most devastating attack. Dosu and Kin were also astounded that the young male was still standing, let alone alive from bearing the full force of the attack. While the team was standing in shock, Dark Naruto held his clawed hand towards Zaku and revered the effects of his previous attack-defense.

"_**Bansho Ten'n!"**_

Zaku suddenly felt a sudden pull on his body, and he leapt back, only to suddenly find himself flying straight for the blonde. He yelled out in shock, trying to stop himself but unable to. A split second later, he was caught by the blonde's clawed hand and held in mid-air. After which, Dark Naruto struck him in the arm with his syringed hand, all five of them, and instead of injecting something into him, began sucking fluids out. Zaku withered in pain and cried out his last before suddenly, his entire body, accept his clothes, was sucked into the syringes. Within seconds, his entire body, spiritual and physical essences, were assimilated with the Dark Naruto, with the only remains of the Sound Ninja being his clothes, flopping to the floor.

Dosu and Kin backed off, horror struck at the sight. It was then the Dark Naruto in front of them suddenly performed its Forbidden Technique again. Bones and muscles crunched, squashed and stretch, as his entire face reconstructed itself. Seconds later, with a snap of its head, the blonde faced the two again, who were horrified to see that it was Zaku's face they could see, not the blonde's.

"_**Come join me guys… it's great in here…"**_

"W-W-What the hell kind of technique is this!" Dosu backed away, Kin following suit. Both of them were absolutely horrified.

Dark Naruto-Zaku sneered, and raised his clawed hand towards them.

"_**Tell me… where is the pink-haired brat? Please tell me…"**_

"T-That's Zaku's voice!" Kin whispered, recognizing the disembodied culmination of the original user's voice and Zaku's, both talking at once. However, it not only sounded like their teammate's voice could be heard, but many others as well.

"That's no ninja! That's a monster!" Dosu shouted, taking a stance and drawing a cluster of kunai from behind him. "Monster or not, it's going down!" In the blink of an eye, he tossed his knives at the face stealer, the projectiles curving through the air before striking its target. The Naruto-Zaku staggered when it was hit in the shoulder, blood drawn. However, it shrugged it off as an inconvenience, and began marching towards them.

"_**Come on guys… knock it off! That hurts!"**_

"Stay back!" Dosu shouted, thrusting his gauntlet towards the phantom. "I'm warning you!"

"_**Look… just tell me where the pink-haired girl is and I'll leave you alone… maybe…"**_

"Kin! Stay back! I'll handle this!" Dosu said, and rushed forward. Kin was too frightened to protest, and watched as her teammate went into battle, head-long against the impossible opponent.

Leaping at the teen continuing to walk towards him, Dosu cranked his gauntlet arm back and hooked out, slamming it into the Naruto-Zaku's face. The blow was enhanced by his Melody arm, which blasted a sound wave right through his head and his entire body, if not the force of the blow's impact. Smirking, the boy kicked off of the face, violently forcing the face back and leaping through the air. Drawing a cluster of shuriken, he swung it around and tossed it, striking his target multiple-times, so much so that the phantom staggered back, shuriken impaled all over him and blood spilling out like an open hydrant.

Landing ten meters away, Dosu grinned under his mask and raised his gauntlet arm again, preparing for a second attack.

"How'd you like that…" he asked. _"If the shuriken didn't faze him, then the resonance from my Melody arm should have screwed up his sense of balance and sight. He'll be dead in no time…"_

Shockingly enough, Naruto-Zaku straightened himself up from the multitude of blows. Bones cracking sickeningly as he straightened himself, the corpse of a ninja cracked its neck impossibly to the side, Zaku's face now crunched up and almost unrecognizable. Grinning widely at a bewildered Dosu and Kin, the face twisted, split and stretched, transforming back to Naruto's face.

"_**Where is Sakura-chan?"**_

"Impossible!" Dosu shouted, trembling from head to toe. "He shouldn't even be standing after that! No ninja could have survived such an assault!"

Kin fell over backwards tripping over a rock, eyes wide and locked onto the monster of a shinobi, sweating bullets.

This thing was the most frightening thing they have ever seen, even more terrifying then Orochimaru…

Its grin widened insanely.

"_**Now… death time…"**_

It threw its clawed out up and, aiming it at Dosu, suddenly fired a current of lightning at him. The electricity hit the Sound Genin head on and, instead of just paralyzing him with thousands of volts of pain, began roasting him from the inside out. Dosu's agonizing cry of pain rang out throughout the entire forest as he was lifted off of his feet, while continuing to be electrocuted by the bolts of lightning. Kin stared silently in fear as her last teammate was tortured on the spot by hundreds of thousands of volts, lightning cracking through the air as Dosu met a grizzly fate.

After two minutes of straight out, continuous lightning currents, Dark Naruto lowered his arm and let Dosu fall back to the ground. Blackened from the electricity and sizzling, Dosu's body fell to its knees before falling flat over to the ground. A second later, his body caught fire before turning to naught but ash.

Kin whimpered and backed away, as the blonde shinobi turned from the corpse on the ground, to the girl. Frowning, he then began walking towards her, forcing her further and further back at a faster rate, before her back hit a tree. Wedged in between the roots, Kin cowered as the blood covered phantom walked right up to her, its shadow cast over her like the grim reaper, ready to take its next victim.

To him, life and death apparently meant nothing…

"P-Please… please… don't hurt me…"

Tears flowed freely from Kin's eyes as the phantom raised its blood covered clawed and licked them, before bringing the armed hand down to bear on her. It hovered right in front of her face, the extended blades flashing, and the rotting flesh of his fingers placed right in front of her nose.

"_**Merge with me…"**_

_**WHACK!**_

Kin's eyes flew open when a silhouette shot out of a beam of sunlight behind the towering phantom and came in with a roundhouse kick right across the blonde's face. Dark Naruto, though physically unaffected by the flow, was caught by surprise and sent flying across the field and into a tree. He slammed into it hard, forming a dent in the solid trunk.

It looked up towards its previous target, only to see a familiar face blocking his way.

Donning his white trench coat, the real and genuine Naruto Uzumaki stood in his path, face overshadowed by his straw hat, and body blocking Kin from sight. The Sound Girl was awe struck and fear struck from the combination of events narrowing down on this very spot.

Naruto glared daggers at his opponent, arms thrown out and hidden blades drawn.

"Not one step closer!"

Dark Naruto blinked, and pulled itself off of the tree trunk it was thrown into. Bones cracked as its arm and shoulders realigned with themselves, and the neck, which had suffered some damage, healed with a quick left and right snap. Though disgusting and seemingly painful, the phantom wasn't at all fussed about injuries.

Seeing as that it was more focused on him now then anything else, Naruto glanced down at Kin behind him, who was still staring wide-eyed at the creature and trembling uncontrollably.

"Are you okay?" he asked. The girl gulped and shook her head, bringing her knees up to her face and trying to look away, but unable to. Naruto smiled, understanding what it was like to be that afraid, but was unable to reflect upon it. A shadow crossing the tree alerted him to attack, Dark Naruto lunging at him with its clawed hand, now lined with senbon sticking out of his fingers. Reacting in the blink of an eye, Naruto ducked down, covered Kin with his body and waited for the impact.

Dark Naruto struck the wedge in which Naruto and Kin were hiding, the impact splitting the tree clean in two and sending debris everywhere. However, when the phantom ninja looked back, it saw that it had attacked but the tree instead of its targets that have seemingly vanished into thin air. Blinking, the shinobi withdrew its clawed hand from the tree trunk and turned around, finding Naruto carrying Kin bridal style in the center of the clearing, with Sakura and Hinata assumed in stances behind him.

As Kin held onto the real Naruto for dear life, he glared at his other-self, obviously appalled by what he saw.

"Disgusting," Naruto spat. "You were barely able to survive our last encounter, and now… the first thing you do after coming back to life, you just aimlessly butcher Genin out of sheer lust for power! A real shinobi wouldn't rely on other people's hard earned strength in a one-on-one confrontation… so why don't you drop the fancy tricks and face us fairly!"

However, Dark Naruto was obviously not listening, and raised its clawed hand, hidden blade flashing into view.

"Why is it back, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, Byakugan blazing.

"I thought we killed it a week ago…" Sakura said certain that they had finished off the phantom back in the spiritual chamber not too far from here.

"Apparently, we only incapacitated it," Naruto replied, furrowing his brow as he looked it over. "It's just a ghost now, a shell of its former self from the chamber, but strong enough to escape the sacred space it was confined to. It's attempting to reconstitute itself with hatred, which it uses as an energy source. Of course… my dark half may appear strong to others, but as long as we're here, it's weak. We have to finish what we started… and see that it ends for good this time…"

All of a sudden, the three members of Team 7 were joined by several more familiar faces. Looking up, Naruto unexpectedly saw Sasuke, Kiba and Shino drop into the clearing from the branches above after spotting them and fanned out on Team 7's left. When they did, they looked up at their opponent standing in the shadows, shocked to find a second Naruto glaring back at them.

"Whoa! What the hell!" Kiba shouted, pointing at the abomination and looking in between it and the real Naruto. "Long lost twin or twisted joke?"

"Twisted joke," Sakura replied.

"Oh… okay," Kiba murmured.

"Just what the heck is that thing?" Shino asked, looking over at Team 7 from the staggering ghoul in front of them. "It looks like you Naruto… but the vibes I'm getting off of it tells me it isn't…"

Kiba sniffed the air and pinched its nose. "It smells disgusting… like blood…" Akamaru trembled as the little dog sat in his master's jacket, staring at the phantom. The pup definitely felt something bad radiating off of the monster standing many yards away, with Kiba comforting his friend. "Hey boy… it's alright…"

"It's got the Sharingan?" Sasuke said, glaring at the thing looking over the two teams. "It's got two different eye types in it… two different doejutsu!"

"Long story guys, we'll explain later," Naruto replied. "Right now, we're in a lot of trouble. This thing will kill you without a second thought if you're not careful…"

Kiba furrowed his brow and looked around, noticing the assortment of bodies lying on the edge of the clearing, as well as what remained of the two other Sound Ninja, the last, remaining member huddled up against Naruto.

"Man… this place got wronged…" the Inuzuka exclaimed. "Did that thing do all this?"

"_**Yup!"**_ Naruto, Sakura and Hinata all said at the same time.

Dark Naruto looked towards Team 7, immediately focusing on the pink haired girl standing in the middle of both Teams. When Sakura the eyes fall on her, she took a stance and readied herself. However, instead of attacking as it was supposed to, the shadow phantom suddenly fell over onto its knee, and with a rather pained groan, coughed up a pool of black blood, that splattered onto the floor. The teams looked on in surprise when suddenly, blue and red chakra began to radiate off of the phantom as he slowly got to his feet. As soon as he did, suddenly, all of the wounds he had started to heal, and the machines and mechanics attached to him began to fall off.

The syringes cracked, splintered and disintegrated, along with his claws. The teen's eyes whitened, and morphed back to their original blue, and the Akatsuki cloak worn around his waist tore itself up and vanished. After that, his entire body began to dematerialize, and he staggered over to where Sakura stood, right towards the group.

Everybody braced themselves, particularly Hinata. However, Naruto held his arm out to everyone as he watched his dark counterpart walk towards them.

"Wait …" he said, "It's over…"

"Huh?"

"Just watch…"

Naruto stepped away with Hinata, leaving Sakura standing on her own. Team 8 also backed off as Dark Naruto headed towards the pink haired kunoichi, his entire body continuing to fall a part as it walked through the shadows and light breaking through the trees. She lowered her fists and dropped from her stance, watching as the manifestation they had fought so hard and so readily approached her and her alone. By the time the phantom reached Sakura, he was already becoming transparent.

Pained in his efforts, the Dark Naruto smiled happily, the first genuine smile ever, and raised his right hand, running it over the girl's face gently.

"_**Protect me… okay…?"**_

Sakura blinked in confusion, but smiled a small smile nonetheless, showing that she accepted whatever he asked of her. Seconds later, Dark Naruto keeled over, and vanished when all of the chakra just dissipated in her arms. Everyone watched as the chakra broke apart into specs of light, before becoming nothing.

Silence fell again, and all around the clearing, the birds began chirping and the sounds of life returned to normal. Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, Sasuke, Shino and Kiba looked around, quiet and confused. It certainly showed when every body in the area started scratching heads and thinking aloud to themselves, 'what the hell just happened?'

"Okay, this is by far the weirdest freaking day I've ever had in my entire life," Kiba exclaimed, looking around and scratching his head. Akamaru barked happily, having also seen what had just happened and no longer sensing a threat.

"Just what exactly was that?" Shino asked.

"I think it was change," Naruto concluded, smiling at Sakura, who was looking down at herself oddly to what had just happened. "You're one special girl, do you know that?"

The pink haired kunoichi looked up at her teammate in question. But then, after a minute of exchanging silent queries, she smiled in return when she saw Naruto smiling right back.

"I don't really want to get involved with whatever you three do in your free time but… whatever," Sasuke groaned, slipping his hands into his pockets and glancing over at Team 7. "Question though… what scroll do you have on you, the Heaven Scroll or the Earth Scroll?"

"Both…" Hinata replied for them. Sasuke, Shino and Kiba blinked.

"_**Already?"**_ they asked at the same time, earning nods from Team 7.

Reaching into Kin's pouch, Naruto drew the familiar scroll received just before this part of the exam started and flashed it at them. It was a Heaven Scroll, and in response, Team 8 pulled out their Earth Scroll, holding it up in comparison, just to be safe then sorry.

"Do you mind…?" Sasuke asked, hoping to get his hands on it without confrontation. He wasn't even sure if he could beat Naruto at this point, since it's been a while since he'd seen him fight.

"An exchange then," Naruto said, tossing the scroll about in his hand, while still holding Kin. "You let us go, and we'll give you this! Sounds fair?"

"Agreed," Kiba replied. Naruto tossed the scroll to him, and once that was done, Team 7 turned their backs on them and departed, leaving Team 8 to mellow over the realization of finally acquiring both scrolls. Well, not so much as earned it themselves, but traded it in an effort to avoid a confrontation between friends and teammates.

Of course, whatever happened here would leave their thoughts the moment they left the area, leaving only Team 7 to really ponder over what had happened.

* * *

_**Moving on…**_

"What exactly happened back there?" Sakura asked as she, Hinata and Naruto, with their extra cargo, hopped along. Naruto had recently moved Kin around so that she was on his back, and the girl seemed very comfortable where she was. So comfortable that she had fallen asleep on him. Though Sakura and Hinata were a bit envious of the Sound Nin, they didn't bother to voice their opinions as of yet. "That was Dark Naruto back there, the same one that we fought not too long ago… but this time… he seemed weaker then before. It's as if he'd lost all the will to fight the moment we showed up, given the fact that he just slaughtered two teams before hand!"

"I guess there are a lot of things I just don't know about myself," Naruto replied, smiling back at his two girlfriends. "My guess is that fighting us took a lot out of him, and pulling oneself back from the grave completely drained him of his energy. So he went looking for more…"

"I n-noticed he fell apart as soon as he saw us," Hinata said, looking over at Naruto as they abseiled over a huge gap between trees. "W-What was that?"

"He was looking for something… or someone in particular before he decided to let go," Naruto said, glancing over at Sakura in particular, smiling. "He wanted to see you before he passed away. You must have had more of an impact on my life then anyone else I know, Sakura-chan. That's my thought anyway."

"That's sweet and all, but it still freaked me out," Sakura replied, ducking under some branches as they continued moving along. "I thought he was going to kill us…"

"Why would he? He was going to die anyway?" Naruto smiled.

"I… never knew… someone like that, someone so full of anger and hatred, could have a change of heart," Hinata exclaimed, blushing a little bit, and giggling. "Naruto-kun surprises everyone…"

As they moved closer and closer, covering as much distance as fast as possible in this race to the tower, Sakura and Hinata decided to bring up the question of Kin, who was smiling happily as she nuzzled Naruto's back in her sleep.

"Why did you bring her along, Naruto?" Sakura asked. _"It's like every time we do something or go somewhere, he just has to pick up someone else. Man… at this rate, his estate is going to be packed…"_

"W-We understand your reasons to help people… but… why _her_ in particular?" Hinata asked. Naruto smiled, and looked back at the girl on his shoulders.

"I couldn't just leave her to die, I'm not that kind of a ninja," Naruto stated. "Besides, there is another reason for me bringing her along with us. Back in the First Part of the Exam, I noticed that she and her teammates were listening in on my conversation with my friends from Sunagakure, something that a lot of the ninja in the general area weren't really paying _that_ much attention to. With that fact in mind, I knew that something was going on with this _Village Hidden in the Sound_, and that the Sound Ninja have some connection to why Gaara, Temari and Kankuro were so on edge. Something is going on between the Sound Village and the Sand Village, and I need to find out what. The more information we have, the better…"

"Hmm… good thinking, Naruto," Sakura exclaimed. "I see your point."

"But…y-you also like her, don't you?" Hinata said, smiling cheekily. The blonde shinobi laughed.

"Man, it's scary how well you two are getting to know me," he chuckled.

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

_**

* * *

**_

_**Author's Note**_: I had to get rid of the Sound shinobi in a gruesome manner, so I figured bringing out Dark Naruto on the verge of death was most appropriate, not to mention having a close encounter with Orochimaru and messing up his plans before he had a chance to get at Sasuke's team. I figured I would later have Sasuke isolated from Kiba and Shino and then have the Cursed Seal put on him, but then again, I have something else in mind with the story. Not exactly what happened in canon, but things will still unfold as the plot thickens.


	32. Moving Shadows

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Moving Shadows_

_**Inside the Tower…**_

"HELLO! IS ANYONE HERE?" Sakura called out as her and her teammates wandered the empty corridors. The tower was a maze in itself; with every turn they took leading them down more pipe-lined, smelly, cobwebbed filled hallways into some random room with basically nothing in it or to a dead end, which at least had a window in to illustrate where the heck they were. The number of cameras in the facility wasn't missed by Team 7, but they were more focused on trying to find someone and ask them for directions, leading them in search for a ghost.

"M-Maybe we're early," Hinata suggested.

"That's a first," Sakura grumbled, looking about the place.

When the group wandered around what they took was the third floor, they eventually came across a room filled with pipes feeding steam and power throughout the entire structure, with a web of open staircases and walkways strung up all over the place. The fact that there was little lighting and the way the place was all jumbled up had the three teammates question the architecture to this entire building.

"Geez… who designed this place… M.C Escher?" Naruto asked himself, looking around and scratching his head.

"This kind of reminds me of one of those gerbil mazes where you make them run around through the tubes," Sakura commented, looking around. The group turned around and headed back down to the second floor.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we found a skeleton in this place," Naruto grumbled, looking left and right as they passed intersecting corridors. "It looks like nobody has been here in years…"

"They must not use it that often," Hinata said, looking into a room as they passed it by. "The C-Chunin Exams are only held once or twice a year in Konohagakure…"

"I knew that Ibiki was full of himself," Sakura sighed, shaking her head. "Not be able to take the Exams again my ass… at the rate we're dishing out Chunin, we can take it as many times as we want."

Marching downstairs, Naruto and his passenger still snoozing on his back, Sakura and Hinata, found themselves in a bit of a pickle. They were sort of lost.

"Where the heck are we?" Sakura asked, looking around.

"Somewhere between 'lost' and 'dead'," Naruto suggested. He looked down a corridor and saw a door on the other end, an EXIT sign blaring fiercely. "Oh thank Kami. I need some fresh air…" He headed towards the exit, his teammates following him. When they got to it, the blonde attempted to open it, finding out that it was barred shut. A sweat drop formed on his head in his failed attempts, with Sakura and Hinata watching curiously from behind. "Okay… remain calm…" He balled his fist and slammed it into the glass. There was a loud 'wham' on impact, but the numbness to follow had Naruto stagger back. "Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow!" He bit his bruised knuckles and glared fiercely at the door. "Okay, let's take this up a notch!" Drawing a kunai, he slammed it repeatedly against the glass, only for the tip of the blade to go blunt after the first twenty hits. "Damn it! What is this? Shatter proof? That stuff's not cheap!"

"They installed shatter proof glass into the exit doors? How stupid are the designers of this place?" Sakura asked, attempting to open the door herself, but found that she was unsuccessful as well. "What were they thinking? That the spiders were suddenly going to get up and leave out of boredom?"

Naruto gave up on it and turned back, noticing the camera watching the exit door. He knew that if any ANBU were watching them at the moment, they were probably laughing their asses off, so he flipped them off to give them the message of how frustrated he was at the moment. Eventually the three of them moved on in an attempt to find their way out.

They made their way to the first floor, and if luck were on their side today, they found the Sand Siblings also wandering the place. When the two teams spotted each other they approached one another, with Gaara, Kankuro and Temari relatively pleased to see Naruto here. They were unfamiliar with his company though, but made an effort to greet each other politely as friends.

"So you three made it!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning. "That's no surprise; I knew you'd rock it…"

"It wasn't as big a deal as the proctors made it out to be, we walked most of it," Kankuro said, rubbing his shoulder. "Although, the amount of plant life in _this_ Forest is ridiculous…"

"Like on the way here we almost got eaten by a Giant Venus flytrap," Temari said, dusting off her arms and getting rid of some twigs and leaves that had gotten attached to her. "It was pretty persistent."

"It left us alone in the end when we kept getting away from it," Gaara said, looking at the three of them. "How long did it take you to get through?"

Sakura looked down at her wrist, but forgot she didn't have a watch. Instead, she decided to estimate. "We finished in just over an hour. It may have mostly been due to a lot of luck though; we didn't run into anything dangerous this time around…"

"Aside from meeting Naruto's Dark half again… it was… a very _fun_ test," Hinata light heartedly said. Kankuro looked at her oddly.

"Naruto's _**Dark**_ half?" Kankuro repeated.

"Putting a pin in that conversation for another time," Naruto hurriedly continued. "Do you guys know what's happening? We've been wandering around here for over an hour. I swear this tower is a conceptual nightmare."

Temari giggled at him, pointing at his shoulder. Kankuro also noticed what his big sister was looking at and snickered as well, with Gaara just smiling a small smile on the side.

"What?"

"That girl you're carrying is drooling on you…"

Naruto groaned and glanced over, finding Kin was nuzzling his shoulder affectionately. As a result, she began chewing on the fabric of his coat. Sakura laughed while Hinata giggled on the side, the blonde finding himself now uncomfortably at the wrath of the sleeping girl.

"Never mind her, she's probably dreaming," Naruto said. He then looked around.

"Let's find a cafeteria or something and sit down. Perhaps we can get something to eat around here…" Sakura suggested. The Sand Siblings agreed, and together, the six of them went off in search of a place to sit and talk. They did eventually find a lunch room half an hour later, and deposited themselves around the place, switching on the lights.

While Gaara sat at the table with his older sister, Naruto went and laid Kin down on the couch, covering her with his trench coat, revealing his fishnet top underneath and assorted weapons strapped to his arms and slung on bandoleers. Making sure she was comfortable, he then joined Gaara and Temari, while Kankuro looked around for something to eat with Sakura and Hinata.

"Hey, is that coffee? Sweet, are there any donuts?" Kankuro exclaimed, looking over the machine and slapping its side. "Black, two sugars… where's the button…" A 'beep' followed, signaling he had found it, and soon enough steaming hot caffeine filled his cup. In the meantime, Hinata was raiding the fridge, finding cups of ramen and microwave food stuffed inside. She took her pick, and decided to make everybody toasted pizza instead. On the other side, Sakura was browsing vending machines, but made a rather unpleasant discovery.

"What's that noise?" Sakura asked, hearing scratching against the glass. She looked towards the machine that sold chips, and backed away when she saw a wall of cockroaches scurrying about inside the vending machine at the bottom. "Ugh? That makes me not even want to loot the machine now…" She moved to the other machine next to it, and found it to be clean. Double checking, she smiled and reached into her pocket. "Hmm… I think I'll have some Doritos. Lets see if I got some change… twenty-five…fifty…sixty…"

Naruto smiled as his teammates made themselves dinner, before looking back at Gaara and Temari, the two of them looking at him curiously. The blonde blinked and shook himself in a waking up fashion.

"Huh? What are you guys looking at? Is it something on my face?" Naruto asked, reaching up and touching his nose and cheeks. "Is it something _not_ on my face?"

"You've changed a lot since we last saw you, Naruto," Temari exclaimed, smiling brightly and propping her head on her hand in admiration. "You're no longer that little brat me and Kankuro used to tease on occasion… you've grown up a lot. I was… _pleasantly_ surprised…"

"Hey, so have you! It's been over four years, we can't help it," Naruto said, leaning back in his seat and putting his hands behind his head, relaxing. "I barely even recognized the three of you when I spotted you back in the classroom where we had the written exam."

"It took me some time to recall who you were when you called out my name," Gaara said, looking the blonde in the eyes as his equal. "After four years, we have become but strangers to each other… for only a moment…"

"There have been a lot of things that have happened to me… lots of changes and lots of events…" Naruto said, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sure you guys have had your share of troubles and changes in your lives…"

"We got around, that's for sure," Temari smiled, before looking over at Gaara. "After you left, things started looking up for all of us. Gaara made a couple more friends; we helped him out a lot with his studies and played around with him a bit more as well. We've never been closer as a family… although our father still treats us as inconveniences…"

"All of you?" Naruto asked. "I knew the Kazekage was a bit of a jerk, especially towards Gaara, but I never knew to all of you guys…"

"He was incredibly disciplined with us, and believed that Gaara was just a weapon for the village to use. He even tried to make him into one too," Temari said with a frown on her face and her brow furrowing, "Isolating him, subjugating him to grueling training sessions, and even sending assassins after Gaara, trying to change him into a mindless killing machine. But he stuck it through." She patted her younger brother on the shoulder, who just continued to stare at Naruto, who smiled at his friend in encouragement.

"I never really had a dad who was like that or… really… a _dad_ for that matter," Naruto commented. "But I guess I can understand where you're coming from. My life is just a step off of yours…"

Gaara nodded. "You've been hated, you've ran… us jinchuriki all go through that stage…" the Sand user stated, looking around. "You're the one who made me realize this, and I was able to move on. I made some friends and both my siblings look after me well. You also have a family of your own… a family _of_ friends…"

Naruto grinned, reaching up and removing his straw hat and propping it on the table. "Yeah! And I'm so glad I do…"

Gaara smiled back, and looked over at Temari, who was smiling in a very friendly manner towards the blonde. Blinking, the red haired boy turned towards his friend and smiled a small-smile of his own.

"I believe my sister… also has something she wants to say to you…"

"Really?"

"Is it about her desperately wanting to see him for more then a year, because she really likes him, since he was the first boy to ever give her a flower as a present?" Kankuro asked, holding his half drunk of steaming hot coffee in his right hand. Temari's face reddened immediately and, not wanting her older brother to spill the beans, took off her sandal and threw it at him. The puppet wielder dodged it, grinning. "Ha! Missed!" _**WHACK!**_ He didn't count the second one to be thrown in such rapid succession. "Gah! Dammit! Who throws a shoe?"

"Shut up!" Temari shouted, before sitting back down. When she looked back up at the blonde across from her, still red faced, she was lucky that he was clueless.

It must have been from his mother's side.

"It can wait," Temari said, smirking at the blonde, who just shrugged back.

"It's fine. However…I do have a question for you… in regards to what you wanted to say to me, back in the classroom," Naruto said, his smile turning to a serious frown. "The way you acted, you were really concerned for my sake and the sake of this village…"

Temari and Gaara looked at each other, and then looked back.

"Before we do tell you, can you promise us that we won't get in trouble for it?" Temari asked now a little bit more nervous then usual. The whisker-marked boy nodded in response and thumped his chest, giving them the thumbs up.

"Don't you worry; I've got quite a bit of a pull with the Third Hokage. He doesn't know this yet, but he's got a ton of favors he owes me," Naruto stated. Temari looked somewhat more relieved at hearing this, whereas Gaara's expression seemed like he treated it with indifference. As curious as the pair were with Naruto's connection to the higher-ups, they instead went on to the issue at hand.

"You know the _Village Hidden in the Sound_ right, as well as the recent events of Konohagakure's ties with Sunagakure steadily becoming weaker due to the new tax laws and embargoes placed on Suna by Konoha?" Temari asked, with Naruto nodding in response. "Well, the _Village Hidden in the Sound_ has convinced Suna into taking up arms against Konoha, with both the Hidden Villages planning to attack the village… during the exam…"

* * *

Not the most lightly taken of conversations to follow up after a tense time wandering the Forest of Death. Frankly, Naruto found the Forest to be a walk through a flower field compared to what he was told by Temari and Gaara about the planned invasion of Konoha. He was given the full insight into the plans as far as they knew, from the forces involved, numbers, strength and method. The plan was simple, but involved very precarious steps, the first one being to put the entire village or as much of it as possible to sleep so that the invading forces could storm and conquer with little resistance, and then isolate the Third Hokage from the rest so that the leaders of both Sound and Suna could dispatch with him, essentially cutting off the head of Konohagakure. They would also use the power of Gaara's One-Tailed demon Shukaku to wreck havoc on the village by having him transform right in the middle of it. Apparently, Gaara was the trump card of the invasion, and Naruto was rather pissed at this.

"I can't believe this," Naruto grumbled, folding his arms, "Using _you_ as the main weapon, now that's low. The jinchuriki of the Hidden Villages are meant to protect their home and their people, and not be used to target other villages. That's genocide on a whole new level…"

"Apparently, there are other things going on in the shadows, however… we don't really know what these other things are," Temari said, interlocking her fingers. "My siblings and I are forced to take part in this invasion because our father sees us as some of the best amongst our village's forces. But…it's the _Hidden Sound_ that's contributing most of its forces to this attack, and the one with the most things going on. Needless to say, I think they're hiding something…"

"What about Kirigakure?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow. Gaara and Temari looked at him a bit in surprise at the mention of that Hidden Village, wondering where he was going with this. "I believe we all noticed the three shinobi that suddenly showed up right before the written exam started and made such a frightening first impression. What do they have to do with this invasion?"

"Kirigakure is in no way involved in this invasion," Temari said, earning a rather nerve-rattled look from Naruto and a confused look from herself. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. It just seems that… those particular three have their own agenda going on. They seem stronger then any of the other Genin, especially you three… not to mention they, like the Sound Genin, are the only three from their village to be participating…"

"Now that you mention it," Gaara murmured, looking over at Kin lying on the couch across the room. "Those three Sound shinobi are the only Genin from the _Village Hidden in the Sound_ to actually participate in the exams. That is quite perplexing…"

Naruto looked over at Kin, who had rolled over in her sleep, hugging the mattress. Ignoring the fact that she was very clingy when she slept, the blonde instead focused on the possibility that perhaps the Kiri Nin and the Sound Nin were connected some now. If not, then if Sound knew anything about the secret missions in the shadows occurring around him, then she must have some knowledge about it. He rose from his chair.

"I'll talk to her… see if I can get some more information," Naruto said.

Temari blinked up at him, seeing the serious look on his face. "Really? I mean… I know you're good at making deals and you always keep your word but… I don't think you're _**that**_ good of an interrogator…"

"I'm no Ibiki, but I have my moments," Naruto said. He cracked his neck from side to side, stretching out his fishnet top, and then stretched his fingers out. Licking his lips, he cleared his tongue, in preparation for what was to come. "Wish me luck…"

He marched on over, pulling up a chair and sitting down right next to her. Gaara and Temari watched on curiously, while Kankuro was deeply engrossed in a conversation with Sakura and Hinata, all three of them eating microwave pizza and drinking coffee, with the exception of Sakura, who was still on her first bag of Doritos.

"…so I stuck it out on a triple twist, but overshot it on the aerobes," Kankuro exclaimed, chuckling in embarrassment. "Training with Gaara really isn't a pleasant experience… it pushes me outside of my comfort zone…"

Sakura nodded, while Hinata munched on a piece of pizza, both of them listening intently to his stories. It was when Sakura was reaching in for another bite she looked down at the chip for a moment, hesitating.

"Wait. What am I doing? These chips were in that vending machine like… forever… oh man," Sakura groaned, scrunching up the still full bag and throwing it at the bin, scoring a perfect ring. "I feel strange. I don't trust these _Doritos_… I think I've got bad nachos…"

"Oh come on, they can't be that bad," Kankuro exclaimed, before gesturing down at the pizza on the cafeteria desk. "Food like this outlasts everything. They're perfect in fields like carbonization and war time, and can keep for months… maybe even years. Like this pizza for insta…" He looked over the pizza again, finding something out of place. "I think one of my mushrooms just crawled away…"

Back to Naruto, the blonde was watching Kin as she slept, knowing that his presence at this proximity, she would eventually wake up. The girl did stir, and opening her eyes and looking in his direction, her awareness and instincts suddenly kicked in. Startled by the face that had attacked her team, the girl cried out and attempted to jab him with a well-placed senbon, only for Naruto to grab her wrist in response and hold firm. The girl struggled momentarily, but then stopped when she saw that it was the blonde that had saved her and not the one that had torn her team to shreds.

"O-Oh… it's you…" Kin said. With her wrist being held firmly in his grip, you'd think she'd be more inclined to break free. But instead, remembering what he had done previously and how close he was to her right now, she instead blushed a brilliant shade of red and looked away. "S-Sorry…"

Naruto released her hand, and let her put away her weapons, before both of them were able to fully relax. As Kin sat up, looking down at the trench coat that covered her, the blonde opened up with a question.

"How are you feeling?"

"F-Fine… I guess," she replied, disheartened.

"I'm sorry about your teammates. They fought valiantly… in spite of the fact that their opponent was far above their league," Naruto whispered, closing his eyes and bowing his head a little. "It was my fault…"

"No… it wasn't," Kin replied, looking up at him to see his eyes re-fix with her own. "My teammates wanted to fight, so they jumped in. I…I didn't because… well… I…"

"You were scared?" Naruto asked. The girl nodded her head, wrapping her arms up.

"I… I didn't know how to describe it," she said, looking down at her hands, seeing them tremble a bit. "Even before we entered the forest, it felt like… I was… sensing something so incredibly powerful and bloodthirsty… I knew that the moment we stepped beyond those gates… it would be the end of _all_ of us. I just didn't know what to expect…"

"The phantom produced a resonance frequency with its chakra that only a certain few can pick up, mainly because they aren't directly affected by its technique," Naruto stated. "This is due to its ability to suck dark thoughts and hatred from its victims. Your teammates didn't feel it because they were directly channeling the manifestation's energy, while you were just getting a splash back. You may have a strong spirit, but you lack hatred… which is its primary fuel, explaining why you were affected. My teammates and I felt the same thing you did too… because we weren't feeding it anything." Kin looked up at him, surprised and fearful of his knowledge. The boy smiled at her. "A lot of people don't admit it, but in reality, their greatest fears are, not the dark or the creatures of the night… what we fear the most is _nothing_. We fear _nothing_ the most, because we don't want to lose what is closest to us. The means to be empty, devoid of everything, and to lose everything we hold dear that makes us who we are. The lack of friends, the lack of a family, the lack of anything of material value or matter, is what people fear the most. That's what good people, who weren't directly feeding it, feel when they stand close to the phantom; because its hand could swiftly take away anything you held dear to you… such as… your life. But you don't need to worry about that now, because he's moved on."

Kin tilted her head at him, intrigued by what he had said. The blonde sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"There I go again… ranting on and on… must have picked that up from my dad," he sighed, scratching his cheek. "He was always so perceptive and detail oriented…"

"You're not a normal ninja, are you?" Kin asked with a smile, feeling a bit better now, after what he had told her. "I saw you during the written exam. You were loud and obnoxious… but then you come out with a smart side… which I find curious…"

"You should have seen my test sheet, I covered it in profanity. Heh…well… you can say I'm made from exact opposites," Naruto said, referring to his parents. "This is what you get when you cross a smart, good-looking, powerful guy with a loud, beautiful, obnoxious girl…" He gestured to himself. "I'm the whole package!"

Kin giggled. "Well, they did a fine job putting you together…" She blushed even more at that thought. And if her face wasn't red enough already, it got even redder…

"Well, your parents certainly did an excellent job with you," Naruto exclaimed, poking her in the middle of her forehead protector. Kin blushed and rubbed her cheek in a bashful manner, now starting too really, really like the words coming out of this boy's mouth. It was then, the blonde decided to change the subject, moving on from poking fun and comments at each other. "As much as I love to get to know you more… there are some things I need to ask you…"

Kin looked at him, noticing the seriousness on his face, prompting her to develop a curious expression in kind. The blonde gestured to her headband.

"I need to know more… about the upcoming invasion of Konohagakure…"

* * *

_**The following five days…**_

Team 7 and the Sand Siblings enjoyed four days of reprieve from the hectic events of the exams. In the time between the day they arrived at the tower and the day of the next stage of the exams, they were able to talk, rest, sleep, eat and whatever. Although... eating was sort of put off when they found out that Kankuro, Sakura and Hinata suffered diarrhea following their pizza night, and spent the next day afterwards in the respective bathrooms provided. After which, Naruto chose to focus his time with Kin, Temari and Gaara, taking the girls aside to share some quality time with them individually, while also going for a stroll around the tower with Gaara to catch up with his oldest of friends.

Team 8 had joined them on the same day a little bit later, having run into the same Venus flytrap problem and had to wrestle both Kiba and Akamaru out of its jaws. They slept for the entire first day here, and waited, not only for the other candidates to show up, but also for the five days to end. The Kiri Ninja followed them soon after, but segregated themselves from the rest of the Genin.

The first three teams that were already at the tower eventually found out what was up with the scrolls. They unfurled them to find out that they were actually summoning seals that immediately called a Chunin or Jonin out to discuss with the teams about the next stages of the exam, or to fail them if they were opened too early. Team 7 had Iruka, Team 8 had Asuma, and the Sand Siblings had… unfortunately for them, Gai. It was a rather amusing meeting, but once everything was cleared up, they were led to rooms the teams would spend in for the rest of their stay.

"_I'm surprised you guys didn't open the scrolls sooner," Iruka exclaimed, watching as Team 7 slumped down onto beds and couches. However, Sakura and Hinata immediately ran into the bathrooms to throw up, leaving only Naruto and Kin. "From what I heard from the monitor room, you three made it here first place; one-hour and eleven minutes. Now __**that**__ is impressive! You broke the old record by several hours."_

"_It was just luck," Naruto replied, sitting himself down on the bed, with Kin immediately slumping over in the heavenly covers. "I'm actually surprised at the amount of Amegakure shinobi that were tormented in those woods. I wonder if the bunch we tied up is still hanging in the tree we left them in." The blonde rubbed his chin in thought, earning a small smile from Iruka._

"_You and your team have really come along since the academy, eh Naruto?" his old teacher asked. "You've grown a lot, Sakura has gotten much stronger, and Hinata has developed so much confidence. Your group is even setting records and completing missions no Chunin or Jonin has ever come close to achieving in their lifetime. Anko is really teaching you three well."_

"_Damn right she is," Naruto replied, taking off his sandals and lying back on the bed. "I wonder what she is doing right now…?"_

"_Probably watching you in your sleep," Iruka chuckled, gesturing towards the camera in the top far corner of their room. "Don't get too comfortable. The next stage of the exams will start in the next five days, so stay on your toes."_

"_Will do…" The blonde was about to relax, when retching from the bathroom reminded him of his teammates' predicament, forcing the male Genin out of the bed and trotting off to see if he could help. "But first… errands!" He enthusiastically disappeared into the bathroom and got around to providing aid for his two girlfriends._

_Iruka shook his head at the blonde and left the room, shutting the door behind him._

"_Some things have changed… some things haven't…"_

_

* * *

_

_**Day Three…**_

_**The Forest of Death…**_

"You never told me about the three Sound Ninja participating in this Exam, Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto said, pacing up and down the large branch as his master leant against the trunk nearby. "I was surprised when I saw them in the crowd. They seemed pretty capable…"

The other two masked Genin accompanying the four-eyed medic ninja stood on separate branches on separate trees, surveying the area and staying away from the conversation. They were an intimidating presence, but not as much of an intimidating presence as Orochimaru himself, standing in the shadows with his arms folded.

"Ultimately, they were failures meant to test the Uchiha…" Orochimaru hissed with a wide grin a constant on his face. "My mission here to the Forest was a failure, due to a rather unfortunate… 'Run in'…"

"So you told me," Kabuto replied, stopping just before the shadows and staring at the Snake Sannin seriously. "You wrote your Genin Team _their_ death warrant when you pointed the phantom in their direction."

"He would have killed me if I hadn't. You know more then anybody else where I place my value on certain items, Kabuto. My lives are more valuable then my subordinates. Those Genin were just expendable assets… pawns on a chessboard… failed experiments," Orochimaru whispered. Kabuto smirked.

"What do you plan to do now then, Lord Orochimaru? With your _failures_ out of the way and the Uchiha now making it on to the Third Part of the Chunin Exams… do you have a backup plan as to getting at your prize?" Kabuto asked. The Snake Sannin grinned even more, his teeth shining through the shadows as brightly as his eyes and facial markings.

"I now have… something else in mind," Orochimaru whispered, unfolding his arms and stepping forward, approaching his student. "Kabuto, I have a new mission for you. Your scouting of the _Hidden Leaf Village_ and the exams so far has bared some rather… promising fruits with… surprising results, has it not?"

"I've gotten a lot of information on the candidates with the most potential… yes," Kabuto said, raising one of the many chakra cards he carried with him and looked down at it. "Sasuke Uchiha, Subaku no Gaara, Rock Lee, Sakura Haruno, Hinata and Neji Hyuuga… and even Naruto Uzumaki… these have been the candidates to show the most potential above all the others."

"Well… I don't need them specifically…" Orochimaru said, grinning. "I just need some DNA samples… of _**all**_ of them. Once you infiltrate the Third Part of the Exam, I want you to acquire a DNA sample of every single one of the Genins to have passed this part of exam successfully. I may have some use for them in the future…"

"My Lord…?"

"Just do it," Orochimaru replied, turning away and glaring out across the Forest. "For your sake… you'd better succeed… otherwise…"

The Snake Sannin grinned.

"I will have to kill you myself…"

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

_**

* * *

**_

Author's Note:

Harem stats update (canon characters): Sakura, Hinata, Ino (I just don't know yet...), Isaribi, Temari, Kin, Tenten, Kasumi (I can't stress this enough, for the millionth time, she is Princess Kasumi from Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: Phantom Fortress)... and more to come.

Other OC characters in the Harem: Ryoko (The series has yet to evaluate the other original Seven Ninja Swordsmen members so I am not sure whether to classify her as OC or not), Mia (a.k.a the Sage of Six Paths, hey, once again, not sure if she is OC or not. Even so, both the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and the real Six Paths of Pain are canon, I've just twisted it so big whoop).

Also, please no more reviews on my spelling mistakes and grammer and stuff, I'm aware of that already, and I don't really _like _double checking my work. Who does anyway? (I'm amateur, not professional. That's a long way down the road). Oh yes, and Zangetsu, I know the damn difference already, I used the name for more of a illustrative point, to better describe what Ryoko's sword actually looks like or resembles (obviously resembles Ichigo's sword from Bleach).

Anyway, reviews on the story's progress is much appreciated. Thanks for reading, and the next chapter will be uploaded soon.


	33. The Third Test

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_The Third Test_

_**The morning of the Third Test…**_

"What the…?"

Naruto had woken up from what was one of the best, and only, twelve hours of sleep he ever had in ages. The afternoon before, he went to bed early and fully dressed, pretty much on guard, seemingly ready for anything. But, when he expected to be attacked some time while he snoozed, what he didn't expect to find in the morning was his two teammates and Kin huddled up against him on the same bed, all of them sound asleep. Kin was on his right, Hinata was curled up on his left, and Sakura was lying with her head against his stomach on his right.

He had practically slept top-up the whole time, and since it was a reasonably sized bed, he couldn't complain. Nevertheless, the scene was still a bit of an eye opener in itself.

Sitting up had the girls curl up to him even more, all of them wearing cute expressions of peace and enjoyment. Needless to say, Naruto didn't really wan to wake them up, and certainly did not want to disappoint them if they woke up and found him gone.

He just smiled and was about to lie back down, but got a bit of a surprise when he also spotted Temari lying at the foot of his bed, sleeping as soundly as the other three.

Okay, now he definitely couldn't get up even if he wanted to. He was cornered on all four sides.

"Oh well…" Naruto laid back, hands behind his head. He let out a sigh, completely at peace himself. "This is new to me. I'll let them sleep, don't want to wake them up just yet…"

Little did he know, all four of them were awake, and they all smiled and moved closer to him…

* * *

_**The Tower's Main Hall**_

The teams that had survived the infamous Forest of Death stood proudly or exhausted in separate rows, each row being a formation of all three team members. They stood in front of a raised platform in the middle of an open hall surrounded by walkways lining the walls, and a huge stone statue with hands formed into a hand seal in front of them, with a score board attached to the wall above it. On the raised platform, the surviving teams' Jonin teachers and proctors stood, with the Hokage in the center, fully robed and puffing on his pipe.

Everyone looked around, taking note of the team to have survived. Team 7, Team 8, Team 10, Team Gai, the Sand Siblings, Kabuto's Team, and the Kiri Team were all who made it.

"Man… only seven teams made it through…" Shikamaru murmured, looking around before glancing up towards the stand where their second proctor stood, happily munching on a dango stick, as if this were just a regular day for her. "She was right when she said she would cut down the teams that made it through by half…"

"_Only the teams with the most potential made it through in one piece,"_ Sasuke thought, paying particular attention to, not only Naruto's Team and the Sand Siblings, but also to the Kiri Team standing quiet on the side. He furrowed his brow when he saw the boy wearing the brown, full body cloak and the hooked staff on his back. _"Out of all of them… __**that**__ one interests me the most…"_

"Look at that… Naruto's team made it through with barely even a scratch, while we got held up by a day," Tenten whispered, looking back at Lee, whose eyes showed he was literally fired up.

"Yosh! He is proving to be a most worthy adversary!" Neji shook his head at his teammate's exclamations, while Tenten just giggled nervously at her friend's sanity.

"_Hmm…"_ Naruto thought, looking between the teams and drinking in the competition, while comparing stats. _"I might be getting more then just a challenge out of a few of these guys yet…"_

Above the silence, there was but a breeze of murmurs. When all eyes focused on the grand stage, the proctor for the second stage of the exam stepped up. Finishing off the last of her dango, Anko tossed it aside and dusted her hands down, smirking at the small crowd of twenty-one Genin staring back up at her.

"Congratulations on finishing the Second Stage of the Exam!" Anko exclaimed, looking from one serious face to the dirty ne next to it. _"Man… twenty-one… I was hoping the numbers would fall into single digits…"_ "For successfully passing the _Forest of Death_, you have earned the right to proceed into the Third Stage of the Exams. But before we move on, the Hokage wishes to have a word with you…" Stepping back, she gestured for the village leader to take the stage. Head nods symbolized the brief communication between the two, and Hiruzen Sarutobi moved forward to give his speech.

"I am proud to see that so many of you have survived the first two stages of the exam. To come this far is truly a testament of your strength as an individual, as a team, and as a shinobi carrying the pride and strength of your village, and your country! Though you may have heard this many times before, I still believe it is necessary for me to remind you of the importance of the Chunin Exams, particularly at _this_ stage of the exams," the old man began, removing his pipe from his mouth and blowing out a wisp of white smoke, smiling. "We put you through these exams to test your vigilance, your courage, and whether or not you truly deserve to be a person worthy of being called a shinobi. Pitting you against one another in a world without bounds is a trial all shinobi must go through in their lives, every night and every day, whether with their comrades or even against them. In spite of being an ally, or even a friend, from the same country, from an allied nation or even from a foreign nation, we shinobi show this friendship through tests of hardship and adversity. Furthermore, these exams are a time where shinobi from foreign nations, including the Great Five, come together as a sign of respect, friendship and good faith, to battle each other _as_ shinobi. Knowing that you carry the weight of your village and your country means you are more then willing to prove yourselves all the more."

"_Boy, the old-man really knows how to drawl on…" _Ino thought, letting out a sigh.

"Therefore, it is a custom amongst shinobi nations to test the strength of their villages and people, by having their Genin prove themselves worthy on their own grounds," Hiruzen stated. "This is between you, not just as teams, but also as individuals, fighting and dying for your villages. This is how the balance of power between allied nations and foreign powers is preserved, through fighting. This is how friendship is defined in the shinobi world. The Third part of the exam is a fight for your lives, with the pride of your village at stake!"

Out of nowhere, there was a flash of light and suddenly, a massive sword the size of Hiruzen plunged into the ground right in front of the Third Hokage from above, slightly pricking the tip of his funny hat. The Genin jumped, while the Jonin behind the Hokage rolled their eyes at the person's boldness, when all of a sudden, a figure suddenly appeared perched on the top of her sword, holding a notepad and chewing on some gum. The Third got quite a energy boost when he was staring right into the butt of Ryoko Takahashi, clad in her tight black slacks, blue sandals, black turtle neck showing off her sizeable chest and mid-drift, and Jonin vest. She grinned as she took in the competition left and looked behind her at the old man.

"I'll take it from here, Lord Hokage," Ryoko exclaimed. "If I may… this is my first time after all." The way she said it had a few guys block their noses to stop the nose bleed to follow, not to mention the way she licked her lips did more then just chafe their pants.

The Third nodded, clearing his throat to cover up his embarrassment. "Very well then, Ryoko, I will leave them in your care."

"Alright, for those of you who don't know me, I am Ryoko Takahashi, proctor for this stage of the exams." The red head grinned even wider and looked back at the rows of Genin. "Now, to get us started, the Third Part of the Exam is in fact a tournament, where each of you will be pitted against one another, which is why the Hokage places the pride of villages and nations, and your own dreams and ambitions, on your shoulders in such high regard! However, because so many of you have passed the second part of the exam, a preliminary round may now be held to thin out the numbers in preparation for the _**actual**_ third stage." What Ryoko said stirred up the crowd a little bit, particularly the three Kiri Genin standing on the sidelines.

All three of them suddenly developed serious expressions on their faces, and were glaring in her direction. They easily recognized the patch wearing Jonin as their former village swordswoman, and former leader of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.

The Jonin team leader of the Kiri Genin also standing in the crowds covered in a full body cloak, but also wearing his headband in plain view, was glaring at the red-head, a huge grin on his face, hanging precariously above the X-shaped scar on his chin.

"_So… Leader-chan is now a Leaf Shinobi… what a disgrace…"_

"This preliminary round is almost the same as the third stage, except this will only have the teams, your senseis, proctors, and Hokage-sama as audience," Ryoko stated, before looking down at the board she held in her hand. "However, before we begin the preliminary rounds, if any of you don't feel up to the challenge, then raise your hands now or you _**will**_ get hurt…"

There was a pause as silence flooded over the pool of heads. Everyone was looking between one another, wondering if anybody is going to throw in the towel. Kabuto looked towards the stand where the pale Konoha Jonin stood patiently, a smirk ever present on the man's face. Receiving a glare from the familiar looking Jonin, Kabuto nodded his head in understanding and held his ground. Ryoko smirked after a few minutes passed, seeing that nobody was going to roll over just yet.

"My, my… even the girls have a big pair on them in this group," Ryoko licked her lips excitedly. "Very well then, since nobody is stepping down, then we shall begin the preliminary rounds. The rules are simple; your names will be picked out at random off of the scoreboard you can see on the wall above you, determining the combatants for each match. This ain't no training exercise, so I expect each of you to fight at your best, as this will consist of one-on-one individual combat. This is recommended in order for you to survive, especially in the real world. The winners of each bout will proceed to the third stage of the exam. No real rules apply to shinobi combat, so you will fight each other until one of you dies or concedes defeat. As much as I want to see people dying, I have been ordered to step in if the bouts go too far to prevent any unnecessary loss of life…" She groaned and looked over at the Third Hokage. "Where's the fun in combat if you can't see a bit of bloodshed, huh?"

"Ryoko…" Hiruzen groaned.

"Okay, fine…" the red head sighed and looked back. "Furthermore, since there is an uneven amount of you at 21 candidates, there will be at least _one_ match during the preliminary rounds where a three person, free-for-all fight will take place. The winner from that bout will proceed onto the next stage of the exam!"

There was a bit of hesitance seen amongst the teams, causing Ryoko to frown a bit.

"HEY! My preliminary rounds, my rules! So keep it together!" She looked up at the panel board above the giant hand statue. "Now, pay attention to the board, as the first two names will now be randomly decided!"

The board lit up, yellow names flashing between vs, the beeping and blaring having everyone staring up at it and standing on their toes. All the Genin were tense, waiting for the results to appear and decide their fates.

"_Man… I sure hope my name doesn't appear with Naruto's," _Shikamaru groaned, looking over at the blonde who was grinning wildly. _"This is gonna be a drag, either way…"_

"_Please let me fight with someone strong!" _Rock Lee said, raising his fist. _"I want my flames of youth to be burning brightly!"_

Naruto looked between the groups, completing his analysis. _"I can safely say that I can beat most of these guys, but there are some that might prove to be a handful for me," _Naruto thought, glancing over at Gaara, then at Lee, then the three Kiri Shinobi, and finally Kabuto. The last one he looked at, he gave a particular glare. _"This one's playing a dangerous game with the way he's been strolling about…"_

Seconds later, the board stopped, the two names decided.

**Sakura vs Tenten**

Sakura grinned and thrust her fist in front of her. "HOOSHA! I'M FIRST UP!" This earned smiles from Naruto and Hinata.

Tenten smirked, glancing over at the pink haired girl. "Fine by me!"

Ryoko, not to mention Anko and Gai grinned proudly, with the proctor raising her hand. "Those two whose names have been called may stay, the rest of you, please proceed to the balconies with your teams and senseis. You'd better sit back folks; this may be a good one!"

Everyone filed out, leaving only Sakura and Tenten glaring each other down, with Ryoko standing in the middle. The Sand Siblings and their Team Leader Baki stood on the same balcony as Team Kabuto and the Kiri Team, who were joined by their Jonin leaders soon enough. Team 7, Team 8, Team 10 and Team Gai stood on the other one, both sides getting a great view of the ring below.

"Who do you think will win this one, hmm?" Kankuro asked. "My vote is on the pink haired girl."

"Same," Gaara murmured, furrowing his brow at the two combatants. Temari was also rooting for Sakura, making the whole of the Sand Siblings team throwing their votes in for Naruto's friend.

"I reckon that brown haired girl will win," Shikamaru murmured. "As far as both of them go, they show a lot of spunk…"

"Forehead doesn't stand a chance," Ino exclaimed, folding her arms.

"I don't know… it might be pretty interesting," Choji murmured, munching on a bag of chips.

Team 7 was rather quiet, all of them staring down at their member with smiles and smirks. Kin was also accompanying them, paying close attention to what was going to go down in the middle.

Sakura and Tenten stared each other down, as Ryoko, sheathing her sword on her back, looked between them and raised her hand, keeping a careful watch on them.

Amidst the silence, she brought her hand down. "Alright! You may begin!"

Leaping back, the proctor moved just in time to avoid barrages of shuriken thrown between Sakura and Tenten, the stars colliding in mid-air and knocked in every direction. Everyone blinked as their attentions were set to a higher standard, when the two combatants immediately opened up on the bell.

Drawing another handful of shuriken, Tenten threw it at her opponent, the black stars curving through the air on their approach. Sakura sprinted forward, kunai drawn. She knocked the barrage aside, and continued towards her opponent, who back-flipped to avoid a slash then a kick. Tenten drew a kunai of her own and hooked at Sakura in a swift counter, their colliding blades sending sparks through the air, as the pink haired kunoichi drove her opponent back, both of them exchanging swift blows. Eventually, Tenten hit the wall, her opponent lunging at her with a chakra inflamed fist and kunai. The blow to follow smashed a huge hole in the wall, the cement and stone breaking apart into huge chunks, with the sole girl member of Team Gai barely managing to dodge the blow meant for her.

Tenten managed to maneuver around the lunge, and watched as the wall Sakura's kunai and fist impaled collapsed under the chakra inflamed punch. This had everyone's eyes widened at the sheer, brute strength the member of Team 7 displayed.

"_Whoo, that was close," _Tenten thought, reaching behind her and grabbing a scroll. _"Any closer and I would have been turned into flat bread…"_

Sakura yanked her hand out and spun around, and chucked her blunt kunai at her target. Tenten ducked, throwing her scroll in front of her, unfurled it in one go. Biting her thumb, she drew blood and quickly swished it across the paper. With that done, she stood up to full height and began swinging her unfurled scroll through the air like a streamer, puffs of smoke exploding along it.

"_Dragon's Dance!"_ Barrages of bladed weapons shot out of the scroll, including Kunai, Kurai, Shuriken, Scythes and an assortment of ninja stars. Sakura leapt to the side, avoiding the first wave of attacks. She barrel rolled and hopped to her feet, before beginning to spring around Tenten, as she spun and twirled her scroll, sending barrages of bladed weapons one after the other towards the pink haired kunoichi.

Sakura responded by throwing cluster of kunai at Tenten, only to have her blades knocked out of the air. Finding no hope in medium-range with this girl, the pink haired Genin continued running laps, dodging and evading more and more weapons as they flew consecutively at her. Tenten smirked, successively unsealing her weapons with every swipe, and sending them at the girl. Sakura opted to block and parry every wave of knives that came at her, but wasn't able to accomplish this repeatedly, and ended up getting badly cut up when she was caught in the middle of a barrage. Leaping to the left and right, she suddenly got another face full of shuriken, and crossing her arms over her face, was able to avoid a good deal of them on a duck, but caught about five in her arms and legs, and was thrown off her feet.

Skidding to a stop, Sakura uncrossed her arms and glared at the brown haired girl, who strung her scroll over both her arms and took a stance, readying to whip out some more.

Not wanting to let that happen, the pink haired kunoichi yanked a knife out of her shoulder and threw it at the girl. Tenten responded by dodging, tossing her scroll aside as she had run out of weapons to throw. Sakura continued pulling out blades that were stuck into her arms and threw them one after the other at the shuriken wielder, who leapt and dodged away. Both of them continued this dance by continuing to exchange kunai and shuriken across the arena, picking up random weapons off of the floor and using those, while ducking and dodging all over the place. It was a pretty high strung match, and everyone was surprised at the agility displayed by the pair.

"COME ON TENTEN!" Lee shouted, throwing his fist in the air. "YEAH!"

"That girl is stronger then she appears," Anko exclaimed, smiling. Naruto and Hinata were watching the fight in interest, both of them analyzing both the fighters' movements. "Leave it to Gai to raise three strong students…"

"I never knew Sakura could move like that!" Ino said, frowning. "Man, I'm _still_ _so_ far behind her."

In that instant, Sakura lunged at Tenten, covering the distance laid out between them, and ducking a kunai in the process. She came right up to the girl and connected a jab right across her face, sending the other kunoichi flying across the way. Tenten hit the ground hard and rolled, head ringing from the blow. The pink haired kunoichi let her land, and quickly charged, not wanting to let the girl get up.

Tenten, albeit a ringing head, looked up just in time to see Sakura sending a fist straight down at her, encouraging the shuriken user to swiftly dodge right. Rolling over, Tenten avoided the fist that cracked the ground, and sent a kick up at Sakura as she leapt to her feet. Tenten's heel hit Sakura square in the chin on its execution and staggered her, but not enough to put that much damage on the pink haired girl. Tenten crouched low and reached back for her two other scrolls, cuffing them in her right hand and thrusting them out.

Sakura, not in the mood in letting the girl unleash her next onslaught of attacks, rushed her and sent a hook right across her face. Tenten staggered, and attempted to block the next series of blows, but was hammered rather badly as Sakura threw punches one after the other. The pink haired kunoichi shouted as she landed each blow, obviously putting effort behind each punch. Tenten responded with an elbow and a hook, and retaliated with a roundhouse kick to her face. Sakura came back round with a backwards roundhouse kick of her own, and sent the girl flying with the powerful blow. Before she hit the floor, Tenten grabbed a scythe from the ground in mid flight and threw it at the pink haired girl, hiding her square in the shoulder and impaling the large, curved blade.

Both Sakura and Tenten hit the ground in their respective ways, the shuriken user landing on her back and Sakura dropping to her knees, clutching the scythe in her shoulder blade. Both of them had inflicted a lot of damage on the other, and it was noted that both of them were exhausted by the time the first ten minutes had passed.

Her face bruised and swollen from the mind-boggling blows, Tenten sat up, panting. Sakura was in pain all over, her body covered in holes and gashes from the knives thrown at her.

"Man… you throw… a mean… right hook," Tenten panted. Sakura grinned at her, nodding her head.

"Well…you've got… an awesome… throwing arm," Sakura panted back.

Grinning, and wiping the blood pouring from her nose, Tenten held up her two scrolls, having managed to hang onto them through her beating. Sakura too, decided to bring out her trump cards, and pulled out her brass knuckles. In the meantime, she pumped chakra into her right hand and began healing some of the more serious wounds, while she watched Tenten prepare for her next attack.

Gai raised an eyebrow. "Oh… so that girl knows some medical jutsu?" Lee and Neji looked on in intrigue as a lot of the serious wounds Sakura received healed up.

"Wow, that's handy," Temari commented, Kankuro nodding his head in agreement. The Third Hokage smiled, quite enjoying this little bout himself. The sheer will and fire displayed by these two was set reasonably high.

"She learned that herself," Naruto exclaimed, smiling. _"This fight is moving along quickly, they're both so strong. And it appears the two of them are going to be using their best techniques on each other so soon into the match. I know Sakura is a hard hitter at close range, but Tenten is a good long range and medium range."_

Tenten unfurled both her scrolls and, crouching low, prepared to take to the air. "My next move… will decide it all!"

Sakura frowned and cuffed her hands in her brass knuckles, blue chakra surrounding her fists and radiating off of them like battery powered boxing gloves. She took a stance, waiting for the brown haired girl to make her move, and an opportunity for her to strike.

"HERE!" Tenten leapt into the air, climbing a good several stories and, hitting a reasonable altitude, thrust both her scrolls out. Sakura watched as the girl hovered above her, and began spinning on the spot, throwing both her scrolls out and opening up with her next attack.

"TWIN RISING DRAGONS!" Tenten shouted, reaching out towards the scrolls twirling around her. Puffs of smoke began exploding round the scrolls as weapons sprung into the air. Grabbing them, the brown haired girl then began raising hell down upon Sakura, literally. Shuriken, kunai, Kurai and a whole assortment of bladed, chained and spear weapons began flying straight down towards the kunoichi at high velocity, threatening to skewer her like a dango.

Not wanting to die, Sakura looked down at the ground and straight up at the waves of weapons flying straight down towards her. Making a quick calculation, Sakura threw her right fist back and, making sure she had the right angle, thrust her fist straight down into the arena floor. The blow split the stone in several places and suddenly, a huge stone slab shot out of the ground and covered over her as the barrage of bladed weapons flew down at her. Tenten gaped in shock when her weapons, instead of impaling Sakura, impaled the huge stone slab that just jutted out of the ground. Everyone looked on in surprise, as Sakura grinned from behind her stone barrier, and the flying weapons safely impaled the area around her, missing her completely.

"What the?" Tenten blinked. _"What did she… how did she…?"_

"I'm not finished yet!" Sakura shouted. Hearing the barrage stop, the pink haired kunoichi punched the stone slab in front of her, splitting the rock in two. Grabbing the top half, she leapt forward and, taking aim like she any other shuriken, threw the boulder straight up at Tenten, using her chakra to increase the strength of her throw and the speed of the rock. The slab smashed through the twirling scrolls and hit Tenten like a bullet train. The girl had to only blink before the rock slammed into her, and knocked her out of the air. Sakura grinned and watched as the unconscious girl fell from above. "BULLS EYE!"

Everyone watched as Tenten hit the floor, astonished, and rather surprised by Sakura's unorthodox method to win the fight. Team Gai was more surprised then the others, while Team 7 grinned on the sidelines.

Kin blinked in surprise when Tenten hit the ground, and Sakura punched the air in triumph. "Whoa… I didn't see that coming…"

"I guess she picked up more then just a few moves from you, Naruto," Anko grinned, patting the boy on the shoulders as they watched Ryoko look over Tenten and check her life signs. "She learned some rather unorthodox methods as well…"

"Using whatever comes her way," Asuma murmured, rubbing his chin in thought. "Resourcefulness and a strong arm is quite an advantage in battle."

"Both of them showed excellent ingenuity and agility in combat, and preferred making strategies during more direct attacks, then thinking things over beforehand. Now _that_ is shinobi initiative on a whole new level," Kakashi said, nodding his head. Kiba was a little bit shaken up himself when he saw the girl hurl the rock as if it were a softball, while Shino and Sasuke stood by in silence, both of them surprised at the outcome as well. Kakashi looked over at Gai, who was remarkably still smiling at his student's success. "You seem pleased, Gai."

"My student fought a good, hard battle!" the fuzzy browed Jonin exclaimed, shaking his fist and grinning. "What spirit! What passion! What youth! Oh, how it is to be young!" Kakashi developed an animated sweat drop and looked away, preferring not to press the question any further then that.

"The winner, Sakura Haruno," Ryoko shouted, calling in for a stretcher before turning to the pink haired girl with a grin. "Nice throw girlie. Wouldn't want to be in front of those fists…" Sakura twirled her brass knuckles and holstered them, smiling back at the red-head.

"Thanks a bunch!"

After a brief congratulations shared with the proctor, Sakura ran up to her balcony to join her teammates, who immediately congratulated her on her arrival. She received a pat on the back by Anko and a hug from Naruto and Hinata. Asuma shook his head at the antics of the team, before looking back down at the arena along with the others to see a battered and bruised Tenten carried out.

Ryoko chuckled as she watched the extra hands fix up the floor a bit and clean up the weapons, before looking towards the scoreboard for the next combatants. "This looks to be a promising tournament after all…"

* * *

The following matches proved to be quite interesting and entertaining. The next match had Sasuke and Kiba fighting one another, the two opposites on Team 8 turning quite a few heads. It was just as fierce and as power-hitting as Sakura and Tentens match before hand, with Sasuke getting kicked around quite a bit by Kiba and Akamaru when they used their man-beast clone collaboration techniques against their teammate. Sasuke however, was able to gain better ground through use of his Sharingan, and was soon trading heavy blows with the boy-dog partners.

However, after a prolonged battle, one of them would have to come out the victor.

Kiba skidded on all fours across the stone floor, bleeding profusely from his nose after receiving a side-kick from his opponent, who knelt on the ground several feet away, panting heavily and two-tomoed Sharingan blazing. The feral Inuzuka wiped his nose clear and grinned, before charging at his opponent again, reaching back and cuffing a handful of shuriken from his pouch, before throwing them at his opponent.

Sasuke barrel rolled to the side, crouched, and then lunged in response, throwing a jab across Kiba's jaw. The boy blocked it and countered, slashing at the Uchiha with a flurry of clawed strikes that badly tore up Sasuke's shirt, and sliced clean gashes across his skin. After whacking away at the Uchiha and gaining ground, Sasuke countered with a swift round house kick, followed by a jab across Kiba's face. He then drew a kunai and threw it at the boy, only for him to maneuver around it and crouched down on all fours, snarling menacingly.

"It may be one on one now, but your ass is mine, kid!" Kiba shouted. Everyone had seen Sasuke flatly knock out Akamaru, who was now lying unconscious on the floor some ways away from the fight, leaving just his master and Sasuke going at it. Of course, the Inuzuka was doing fairly well against the Uchiha, who was practically on his last legs.

Sasuke grinned. "Don't count me out just yet, dog boy!" He quickly shot through a series of hand seals and took aim, inhaling quickly. Kiba responded fast, moving in for a charge. _"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"_ The exhale had fire bellowing out of Sasuke's lips, which quickly whipped into a huge sphere of orange and propelled straight at Kiba, tearing up the ground on its approach.

The boy rolled out of the way and swiftly attacked on Sasuke's blind spot. The jutsu left the Uchiha's sides wide open and suddenly, the black haired Genin was tackled from the side and sent rolling across the ground. When he skidded to a stop on his back, Kiba pounced and landed on top of him, thrust his clawed hand straight down at him. Sasuke caught it with his arm and held as Kiba drew blood, both boys barring teeth and glaring at each other.

"What a brutal fight," Choji commented. Shikamaru and Ino nodded in agreement.

"They're sure not afraid of ripping each other apart," Asuma exclaimed, folding his arms. _"If this keeps up, both of them will knock each other out."_

"Give it another minute or so. One of them will eventually break," Kankuro said, nodding his head.

Kiba grinned and rotated his claw around, Sasuke's eyes widening when he saw what the boy had planned next, recognizing the hand gestures.

"PIERCING FANG!" Kiba shouted, and suddenly, his body began spinning at a high velocity, tearing up Sasuke as it drilled down right on top of him. The Uchiha shouted in agony as his chest was torn into like an open blender blade was gnawing at him, before Kiba leapt off of him and landed a safe distance away, bearing his claws and fangs. The Inuzuka grinned as Sasuke struggled to his feet, panting heavily, with his exposed chest all gashed up. "A direct hit like that without a running start would still leave you scarred kid! Had enough?"

Panting, Sasuke looked up towards the stands towards his teacher. Kakashi was looking down at him, looking over his condition and recapping on the fight, with Shino also passively watching in the background. Eventually, Kakashi came to a conclusion and shook his head at the boy. Sasuke, understanding, sluggishly rose to his feet and gripped his chest, feeling sharp pains rack his body.

"Alright… you win, Kiba," Sasuke groaned, smirking at the boy. "Perhaps next time we can have another fight, and I _**will**_ beat you…" Kiba smirked back and stood up as well, both of them looking towards the proctor. Ryoko saw that Sasuke conceded to the match, and nodded in understanding, raising her hand.

"Winner, Kiba Inuzuka!"

"_What a relief…"_ Kiba sat back on the ground as he watched Sasuke head back up to the balcony. He followed him with his eyes, sweating nervously and in exhaustion. _"Any longer, and I would have thrown in the towel myself…"_

"Way to go Kiba!" Sakura shouted, with Hinata also smiling for him. Naruto chuckled and winked.

"He really tore up the field in that fight. I hope there's a floor left so that I can get my turn," Naruto exclaimed. Anko was busy eating a stick of dango to really care. As much as she enjoyed seeing blood fly in a fight, that was a bit of a disappointment for her.

"Geez… no one died… what a shame," Anko grumbled.

"These fights are all brawn and no brain," Shikamaru murmured, resting his head on his arms. "Man… I'm kind of worried about who I'm going to fight next. Everyone, esspecially Sasuke and Kiba are so strong…"

"Don't worry Shikamaru; you'll get your chance!" Asuma exclaimed, patting his student on the back as extra encouragement. "We've got a long ways to go yet…"

* * *

_**Preliminary Round 3**_

The moment Asuma finished his encouraging speech with Shikamaru, the lazy bum's name just happened to pop up on screen next to Ino's and Misumi's, one of the Genin from Kabuto's team. The three-person free for all battle followed soon after, where Misumi, displaying a rather unusual elastic ability, put both Shikamaru and Ino on the ropes, literally, and tossed them around quite a bit before being set upon by Ino's mind disruption technique. With the man disoriented, Ino could then concentrate on Shikamaru, both of them exhausting themselves fighting each other.

Using his shadow possession technique, he chased Ino all over the place, the girl able to keep a step ahead of her teammate's abilities. She tried hitting him with her technique, but missed more then once when he also evaded. It was basically a game of cat-and-mouse between the two for a good fifteen minutes of the fight.

Of course, Misumi managed to pull himself back out of his brief state of inebriation, and decided to take out Shikamaru before he could get trapped again, strangulating the boy using his rubbery body to bind his arms, legs and neck. However, before he could knock out Shikamaru, Ino managed to sock both of them with a hook aimed up at her teammate's chin, followed by Misumi's face. This left Shikamaru lying dazed and confused on top of an equally dazed Misumi, both of them wearing swirly eyed expressions.

Disorientated or not, both of them were pretty much unable to continue.

"Get… this… brat… off of me…" Misumi spoke, his voice muffled by Shikamaru's hair and his face cloth. Ino, battered and beaten up herself, was kneeling exhausted on the ground several feet away, glaring at the two dazed and confused Genin lying on the ground.

"You guys suck!" she shouted, panting slightly and pointing an accusing finger at them. "Shikamaru, you lazy bum, get up and fight me right! The weirdo you're sitting on can stay down!"

Shikamaru sighed and looked up towards the ceiling, not even caring about his cut lip, or the fact that his body was numb from falling down so hard.

"This is such a drag, just leave me alone Ino…"

Up in the stands, everybody was yawning. Though Shikamaru showed a lot of creativity in attempting to stop both Ino and Misumi, in the end, his laziness wasn't carrying him any further then the dazed Misumi he was lying on top of. The fact of the matter was that his blonde teammate could throw a much harder hook then him, and he was just too beat now to even bother continuing the fight.

"Come on! Do something else!" Kiba shouted his face in stitches, while also caressing Akamaru in his arms, the dog still unconscious from the beating he received. "Geez! Show some initiative Shikamaru!"

Asuma sighed and looked down at his two students in content. "(Sigh) Either Ino has won or Shikamaru is just stalling. Why did those two have to fight anyway…?"

The Sand Siblings on the other side were staring oddly down at the sight before them. There was a double stack up, with Ino now kicking Shikamaru while he was still lying down on the floor, not caring about the match and staring up at the ceiling, counting the tiles.

"What is going on?" Temari asked.

"This is more like a spat then an actual fight… minus the weird arm stretching freak," Kankuro muttered. Gaara shook his head, looking quite disappointed himself. Across the way, Kabuto was actually enjoying the match, mostly because it was ne big stand up so far.

"Man, Misumi got his butt kicked by two rookies," Kabuto chuckled. Yoroi also laughed hysterically, arms folded as he looked down at his comrade's state. "You don't see that every day…"

"No kidding, what an oaf," the black eyed man replied.

"This is the weirdest match I've ever seen," Anko said, earning nods of agreement from Naruto, Kin, Sakura and Hinata. On the upside, everybody ended up getting a kick out of Ino beginning to stomp on her teammate's face. The Snake Mistress snorted. "If that doesn't get him up, I don't know what else will…"

Ryoko sighed, sitting on top of her sword eating a bowl of ramen. She watched as Ino stomped on her teammate's face, and decided to call the match from there, out of not just the fact that Shikamaru wasn't fighting anymore, but mostly out of boredom. Raising her chopsticks, she waved them in the air.

"Battle set and over: one knock-out, the other unwilling to continue. The winner is Ino Yamanaka," Ryoko said, before returning to her noodles, shaking her head. _"Man… never thought I'd hear myself say that…"_

_

* * *

_

_**Preliminary Rounds 4, 5 and 6**_

The round before had Kankuro vs Choji. Although the two of them were pretty confident in their abilities, perhaps a bit too confident, only one of them would be moving through to the next round. Kankuro pulled his trump card on the boy and unleashed a six armed puppet on Asuma's student. The fight that followed became a rather interesting one when Choji barreled through the puppet to get at its master, Kankuro forcing to move from medium range to close range.

However, the Spiked Human Bullet Tank technique that Choji frequently used in conjunction with his Multi-Size Technique forced Kankuro to put some space between himself and his opponent. He needed to get into medium range in order to really fight his opponent, meaning he had to dodge left and right over the concrete floor to avoid the huge ball lined with shuriken barreling towards him.

Eventually he managed to get his puppet Black Ant and Crow to corner Choji. Black Ant opened up and shot a dozen chakra wires out and caught Choji as he attempted to crush Kankuro, and got sucked into the puppet's torso. However, because of his size in his Bullet _Tank Form_, Choji got stuck half way.

Kankuro had to therefore kick at him a few times before the boy eventually forfeited since he couldn't move. This was followed by attempts by Temari, Kankuro, Naruto, Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru and Asuma trying to pull Choji out of Black Ant, as he was unable to drop out of his technique properly, and still ended up stuck. After several minutes of trying to pull him out, Ryoko then moved everyone on to the next match.

Hinata and Yoroi fought next, and because it was once again a taijutsu battle, placed the Hyuuga directly in her field. However, her opponent wouldn't give up without a fight, his chakra scalpel abilities forcing Hinata to use her Eight Trigrams Rotation technique, surprising Neji who was just learning to use the technique himself. Eventually, after a prolonged battle, Hinata managed to knock out her opponent and move on to the Third Stage.

Shortly after some really entertaining fights and unconscious bodies being rolled out, Ryoko called the next match.

"Rock Lee and Eclipse! Come on down," Ryoko shouted.

"YOSH!" Rock Lee enthusiastically leapt down from the railings and took a stance, waiting for his opponent to enter. Looking up, he spotted the black haired Kiri Genin, the one that had everybody trembling, walk on down slowly to the arena. He came to stand directly in front of Rock Lee a good ten meters away, hands in his pockets and glasses hiding the fierce look of hatred blazing in his eyes. Lee grinned when he saw his opponent turn to him. "Let us make this a good fight?"

"Yes…" the boy, now known as Eclipse, whispered, bowing to convey an air of honor, on top of his excitement for blood. "I hope that this will be a most rewarding battle…"

Eclipse's teammates above were watching with great interest, esspecially the Sand Siblings and Team 7. Everyone had become roused by Hinata's fight before hand, and those who knew Lee well, also knew that this coming fight will be a good one. Granted if his opponent could put up a good fight was also a question everybody had on their minds.

The Hokage raised an eyebrow as he watched the two boys stand each other down, becoming more and more curious at the Kirigakure ninja. _"I know Lee… he has trained incredibly hard to get this far, and from what I've heard from his teacher, is really strong." _He then looked over at his dark haired opponent wearing full black. _"Kirigakure is our ally… however… it troubles me that they would only send in one team to compete…"_

The cloaked Kiri Jonin looked down at the arena with more interest, arms folded and orange eyes blaring through the shadows of his hood.

"_I hope Eclipse is in full control of himself. He must be in order to carry out our plans for the future…" _he looked down at his other two students, both of them eager to see the fight, yet not outwardly showing it. _"We all have a part to play…"_ Across to heir right, the Sand Siblings were not only eyeing the next combatants, but also the Kiri ninja. After hearing what Naruto had to say, they became even wearier of the shinobi from the Hidden Mist Village.

"What's their game?" Gaara whispered curiously, before turning back to the floor below.

"Alright you two, lets make this one a clean bout," Ryoko said, looking between the two Genin, raising her hand. "You may begin…"

Rock Lee leapt into the fray first. He started off with a sprint, dashing at his opponent with a smile ever present. Leaping through the air, he spun at Eclipse with a powerful roundhouse kick, cutting through the air like a knife.

"KONOHA DAI SENPUU!" he shouted, his kick slamming across the boy's face. The blow connected with a loud bang to be heard on impact. Everybody flinched in discomfort at the sight of the blow and the spray of blood to splatter across the floor. Even the Jonin blinked in surprise when the boy didn't even react or even bother to move before he was hit.

Lee landed and continued hammering away at Eclipse, sending a series of punches across his face, followed by kicks to the chest and stomach, knees, elbows, and finally, a powerful jab across his face again, the boy staggering back from all the blows. Blood was splattered everywhere, with even more pouring from his nose and mouth. His goggles had also cracked from the punch, leaving his face a crumpled mess, and the top of his brown, buckled up trench coat covered in blood stains.

Bushy brow stood back, taking a stance, looking at his staggered and obviously wounded opponent with a bit of concern.

"You didn't defend? Are you okay?" Lee asked, not wanting to attack his defenseless opponent.

Just as the black haired boy staggered a bit more, he then slumped over, unresponsive. Ryoko raised an eyebrow from the sidelines, watching as the boy hunched over, as if sick. But then, to everyone's shock, he looked up, showing off his bruised and bloodied face, a huge grin spread across his lips.

The boy licked the blood from his upper lip and chuckled.

"Only taijutsu… how fascinating," Eclipse exclaimed, straightening up and cracking his neck from left to right. "Let's see you try that again…"

Lee gasped when he heard a sizzling sound, and looked around at the blood splattered all over the place. Everybody gasped when they saw the blood turn black and evaporate into smoke. That smoke then floated over to the boy, and got sucked back into his body. The blood around his face disappeared as well, all his injuries and damage to his clothing repairing. His grin remained.

"Smoke?" Asuma queried. Shikamaru, Ino and Choji were gawking at the sight, as the black haired boy's body fully repaired itself from the damage.

"Now that's an interesting technique," Kakashi murmured.

Kiba blinked. _"Is that why Akamaru was so nervous around that guy… because he was just a walking cloud?"_

Sakura, Hinata and Kin stared in quiet surprise, with Naruto glaring daggers at the weird Kiri Nin. Anko was also analyzing the boy carefully, wondering how his body was doing that, but was unable to come to any conclusion as of yet, and instead just decided to watch to see how the rest of the fight would play out.

Meanwhile, Eclipse had fully healed himself, and was now smirking devilishly at his fuzzy browed opponent.

"Now… I shall eat you…"

There was a one second pause and suddenly, Eclipse attacked Lee. He kicked off f the ground, and seemingly flew straight at Lee in the blink of an eye. The boy responded, ducking quickly to avoid a roundhouse kick. Lee retaliated with one of his own, sending a roundhouse kick up towards Eclipse's head, the boy raising an arm and blocking, before bringing his raised fist straight down at his opponent in an overhead punch. Fuzzy brow leapt out of the way, just in time to avoid the punch that impaled the ground.

Back-flipping away, Lee then landed and, swiftly drawing a cluster of shuriken from behind him, threw it at his opponent. Eclipse brought out a kunai of his own, and blocked three of the shuriken, but got hit by two of them in his left shoulder, staggering back and dropping his kunai. Lee took this as his next opportunity to strike, sprinting forward and leaping at the boy, sending his left knee right into his chest. He then seemingly disappeared due to his speed, and reappeared on Eclipse's right, sending a roundhouse kick to his face, knocking him back.

Staggering to a stop, Eclipse shook his head, regaining his senses. Lee then suddenly appeared behind him, and brought a kunai round at his opponent, attempting to impale him. However, the boy glanced over his shoulder with a grin, and his body suddenly dematerialized into smoke. His entire body turned into a black cloud and suddenly floated off through the air, Lee missing his target by millimeters and skipping back. He blinked in shock.

"Huh? How did he do that?"

Neji and Gai was looking down at the battle in surprise, the Hyuuga boy putting up his Byakugan to get a better look at the battle. Unfortunately, it did him little good, and couldn't find the other boy that had successfully evaded Lee's attack. Everyone became surprised at the unexpected evasion made by Eclipse, and began searching for any traces of him.

Suddenly, a leg shot out of thin air and kicked out at Lee, the boy back flipping when the black cloud of smoke reappeared with the leg, the rest of Eclipse reappearing from where that leg was. Rock Lee gritted his teeth and prepared to charge again, but suddenly saw the boy dematerialize again and vanish into thin air, the last thing Lee saw of him was his huge grin.

The next thing Lee felt was being kicked in the back followed by a punch to his face when the black wafts of smoke began surrounding him and cloud his vision. Soon enough, random kicks and punches began shooting out of the surrounding black clouds and began hammering away at him. Everybody could only watch in shock as the boy was punched and kicked around by the cloud of black smoke.

"How can you fight someone like that?" Sakura shouted.

"L-Lee-kun…" Hinata gasped, watching as Lee was suddenly kicked in the face and clothes-lined.

"That boy must have an incredibly high Fire Element Chakra that gives him that ability," Naruto whispered. _"To be able to break down his body and recombine it in an instant is truly an astounding feat, not to mention to be able to recombine separate parts of his body in different spaces and use them at will. Incredible speed combined with incredibly potent chakra… amazing…"_

Sasuke activated his Sharingan, and began watching the fight more closely, impressed by Rock Lee's speed and taijutsu, but even more shocked by the other Genin's own abilities. Everybody else was now watching the fight more intently, with Ryoko standing as far away as she could, impressed by the two combatants skill shown thus far.

Fed up of being kicked around, Rock Lee leapt out of the ring of smoke surrounding him, and back-flipped up to the top of the stone statue. Perching himself on the pinnacle, he glared down at his opponent, who reappeared out of the cloud of smoke that formed around him and shaped him. Hands in his pockets, the boy glared up at the fuzzy browed Konoha Genin perched on top of the statue.

Over by the Kiri Team, the three members, including the Jonin leader, were watching the fight with smiles on their faces. The blind girl blinked as she heard and felt the fight explode around her.

"Eclipse-kun is using his shadow smoke, isn't he?" she exclaimed. Her sensei nodded his head, grinning.

"Yes…" the Jonin replied, chuckling. _"For years Eclipse has been increasing his chakra and pouring it into that smoke he carries around in that plastic bottle on his back. In so doing, he has bonded with it and can transform his entire body at will into smoke. This makes him completely immune to physical damage…" _He then frowned a bit. _"However, he does have __**one**__ weakness…"_

Lee smiled down at the black haired boy, seeing him still glaring up at him. "You are truly a worthy opponent indeed! I am no match for you with my taijutsu in this state, but perhaps at a level higher… I may be able to beat you. I have promised my sensei that I would not, however… I am afraid I must break my promise…" Lee looked up at his sensei, to see Gai grin at his student and give him the thumbs up. Everybody looked between Lee and his teacher, seeing the shared grins and looks of confidence on their faces.

"You can do it Lee! You have my permission!"

"Yes sensei!" Lee slipped off his leg bands and pulled off the weights underneath them. Everybody watched curiously as the fuzzy browed boy removed his weights, with Naruto furrowing his brow in response to the sight. Seeing Lee result to removing his weights told the blonde that this opponent may be _too_ much for him to handle.

Lee threw away the weights, the incredibly heavy slabs of training gear hitting the ground with the force of landmines going off, and the shockwave that followed shaking the walkways and everyone on them. Teams 8, 10 and the Sand Siblings were astounded at the amount of weight Lee was actually carrying, the Kiri ninja also becoming intrigued. It was hilarious to see WTF faces on Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, Sakura, Hinata, Kiba, Sasuke and Kin.

Team 7 blinked in surprise, Anko raising an eyebrow, Sakura gawking, Hinata fidgeting nervously and Naruto looking more worried, not about the boy Lee was fighting, but for Lee himself.

Immediately upon removing his weights, the bushy browed kid leapt off of the statue, vanishing from sight. Eclipse blinked and looked behind him passively, seeing Lee suddenly appear out of thin air. The mini-Gai shinobi's speed was at such a higher level now, it made it impossible to actually follow him.

"You are mine!" the boy shouted, sending a fist right at his opponent's face. However, Eclipse surprised him once again when he evaporated into smoke, the smoke floating through and past Lee, and rebuilding itself into a physical body behind the boy in a tenth of a second.

Grabbing Lee by the scruff of his collar, Eclipse then threw him over in a single handed throw, and drove the boy into the ground, the impact creating small crater at its force. Lee shouted in agony at the sudden reversal of force, groaned and looked up, seeing his opponent grinning sadistically down at him.

"Don't think that you can beat me through brute strength and impressive speed alone… boy…" Eclipse exclaimed, raising his hand towards the downed Lee, the tips of his fingers wafting black smoke. As of that moment, Rock Lee was now beginning to tremble in fear. "I shall now assimilate you!"

Naruto, after analyzing Lee's opponent from a distance for a good few minutes, suddenly had realization hit him in the face, around the same time Temari, Neji, Kakashi, Asuma and Hinata also came to the same conclusion. The blonde leant over the railings, now desperate and determined to save his friend from a gruesome fate.

"LEE!" Naruto shouted down at him. "HE HAS A WEAKNESS!"

Snapped out of his reverie, Lee spun a kick right up at his opponent, landing his foot on Eclipse's chin and knocking him back. The fuzzy browed boy back flipped away, putting space between him and his opponent. When he landed, he looked up at Naruto, the blonde shouting down at him.

"EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BREATHE! TAKE AWAY THE AIR AROUND HIM AND HE'S DONE FOR!" Naruto yelled.

The Kiri Ninja across looked up towards the blonde in surprise, wondering how he was able to figure it out. Kakashi and everybody else who had also realized this nodded in agreement, and looked down to see what Lee would do next. The bushy browed boy looked back at his opponent, noting the tell-tale wafts of smoke rising off of his shoulders. Eventually, after making some quick recounts and calculation, the boy's mind also snapped with an idea and he grinned up at Naruto.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun!" he shouted.

Immediately, Lee assumed a sprinter's running start and, taking aim, shot at break neck speed towards his opponent, who raised his hand towards the charging boy. However, Eclipse was surprised when the green blur suddenly shot around to his left, and began sprinting around him in an anti-clockwise direction. Lee continued doing this, forming a blurry green ring from the countless laps he was now running. As seconds ticked by, Lee sprinted faster, really kicking it up a notch.

Anko grinned over at Naruto, who smiled back up at her. "Good call, gaki…"

The wind started to pick up around Lee, dust flying everywhere as Eclipse attempted to figure out what was going on. From Lee's perspective, he knew he had to pick up his speed a bit more.

Crossing his arms over his face as he ran, he concentrated hard. _"I must… beat… my… opponent!" _Energy suddenly exploded around him, his skin turning red and blue sweat radiating off of him like visible wind. "Third Gate: Gate of Life! OPEN!" A shockwave rang out as he picked up speed, the wind caused from his lap running around Eclipse increasing to that of a miniature tornado. Eclipse's eyes widened at the sudden jump in his opponent's speed. Lee kept his arms crossed, intent on finishing him off. "Forth Gate: Gate of Pain! OPEN!" Lee's speed exploded into a whole other level.

His running caused a tornado to shoot up right in the middle of the arena, with Eclipse standing right in the middle of it. Of course, he wouldn't be standing alone. All of a sudden, his lungs just refused to work, and struggling to breathe, he collapsed to his knees, choking on nothing. In those few seconds he began feeling the effects of Lee's high-level sprinting rotation around him; Eclipse's body began breaking apart, smoke floating off into the air and dissipating.

Sakura blinked, looking up at her sensei. "What's happening to him? I-Is he finally taking damage?"

"Oh yes," Anko exclaimed.

"_Thanks to Lee's speed and his rotation pattern leading up to the Lotus technique, he creates a vortex which sucks away the oxygen. Without oxygen, his opponent can't breathe, which means he can't use his technique effectively," _Kakashi thought, raising an eyebrow. _"Clever…"_

As Eclipse gasped for air, he looked down at his hand to see it coming apart, smoke disappearing into the air as he began losing bits of his body. Right now, he has lost three fingers, pieces of his trench coat, the right side of his face, and bite size pieces from his legs.

"Dammit… I… can't… hold it… together…" the boy growled, looking up with black blood seeping out of his mouth. "Damn… you…!"

"NOW LEE!" Gai shouted.

The bang of the shockwave to follow in Lee's sudden change in direction, and the boy was underneath his opponent, a swift kick to the chin sending Eclipse skywards. In the blink of an eye, Lee followed, and while in mid-air, began smacking his opponent around. Everybody was looking up to the air space in front of them, watching as the green and red blur began smacking around the boy in the trench coat. Eclipse was staggered, unable to absorb or recover from the high velocity of hits after being weakened from oxygen deprivation.

Seconds later, Lee appeared above his opponent and hit him straight towards the ground. In their descent, Lee caught up to him and wrapped a strain of gauze around the boy's mid-section, yanked him back towards him, and sent an earth-splitting punch straight across Eclipse's face. A thunderous explosion in the center of the arena followed a split second later, debris and dust flying everywhere, with Ryoko bracing herself for the blast of wind to follow.

Everybody held onto whatever the could against the force winds, and waited it out to the end. When the climax of the blast subsided, the audience looked back down at the arena floor, to see a huge, smouldering crater sitting in the center of the concrete floor, as if a massive artillery shell had hit. At the bottom of it, lay the unconscious body of Eclipse, with Lee standing over him, dropped from his Eight Gates state and panting heavily, exhausted.

Ryoko hopped up from where she sat, and walked towards the crater, looking down into the center of it. When she saw the black haired boy lying flat on his back, in a close-to-dead state and Lee standing tall, she grinned and slid down to where the two Genin were. She checked for a pulse on the Kiri Genin and looked over his battered body, as well as the state of the field. Everybody held their breaths, awaiting her answer.

The Kiri Team was looking down at their teammate and comrade with little concern. Their expressions conveyed more of a deep loathing from both the teacher and the cloaked student, while the blind girl was looking nervous. After the proctor analyzed the seemingly dead boy, Ryoko rose to her feet and raised her arm, pointing at Lee.

"The Winner of this Round: Rock Lee!" Ryoko exclaimed.

Teams 10 and 7 broke into cheers, with Naruto applauding his friend, smiling at his success. The Sand Siblings continued to stare anxiously down at the field as Lee stepped out of the crater and began cheering himself, throwing his fists in the air and striking a pose in his characteristic way, grin flashing.

"I did it, Gai-sensei!" he exclaimed.

"What a weird... strong guy," Kankuro murmured. Temari and Gaara nodded in agreement.

While the people on the balconies celebrated the end of the spectacular, high intense fight, Ryoko was continuing to look over the boy lying in the crater. Considering bringing out a stretcher for him, the swordswoman, as well as everybody else, got a rather nasty shock when Eclipse unexpectedly rose up from the ground with just his legs as support, and staggered to a standing position.

Smoke wafting off of him, the boy glared up at the celebrating teams, seeing them suddenly stop and stare at him, as if they had spotted a ghost. Naruto blinked in surprise, while Sakura, Kin, Hinata and Anko gawked in shock. Sasuke, Kakashi, and Kiba were also dumbstruck, with Shino's silently staring, mouth agape. Pretty much everybody was sharing similar expressions as they watched the ghost of a Genin get back up after being on the receiving end of a one-hit, killing move. It was perplexing and unbelievable.

"_Impossible… he shouldn't even be moving!" _Lee thought, rubbing his eyes to see if he wasn't hallucinating. _"He should be out cold… even dead!"_

Battered and breathing raggedly, Eclipse silently marched out of the crater, and past his opponent. Lee watched in awe as the beaten and bloodied body marched back up to the balcony on his side, and over to his teammates, not caring about anything else around him. When he returned to the Kiri Team, he received a warm smile from his blind comrade and a pat on the shoulder from his team leader. Seconds later, he was standing where he was before his fight started, hands in his pockets, and his wounds slowly starting to heal.

"O-kay… that was scary," Ryoko said, smirking. _"The brat died and came back to life! I could not ask for anything less…"_ She turned back to the still stunned crowds, and raised her arm. "Rock Lee has won by knock-out and at his opponent's concession. We shall now continue on with the matches!"

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	34. The Third Test part 2

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_The Third Test Part 2_

_**Preliminary Round 7…**_

Neji skidded to a stop, panting, bruised, and covered in sand as he glared heatedly through his activated Byakugan at his stoic opponent. Gaara stared right back at him, his face cracked and splitting from the blows Neji had managed to land on his Sand Armor. His ultimate defense rose up once again, readying to ward off another assault from the Hyuuga, who was struggling to get through the boy's shield, and costing him dearly.

Naruto watched on silently with his arms folded, analyzing Gaara's shield and the way it moved, while also taking in Neji's fighting style. By the time this fight was over, one of them would be moving onto the next round, and the blonde knew that when he got through, it was most likely that he would have to fight one of them. Sakura and Hinata were watching on with similar interest, and were stunned by the speed Neji was actually able to dish out with his Gentle Fist style of fighting, on top of the effectiveness of Gaara's sand barrier, which seemed to act off its own accord.

"Gaara-san is strong," Hinata exclaimed, surprised at seeing her supposedly invincible cousin struggling in his bout. Sakura nodded his head, looking over at an unsurprised Naruto.

"You knew about this?" she asked. Kin also looked over at Naruto, both of them seeing him smile and nod his head affirmatively.

"Gaara's primary defensive and offensive weapon is his sand," he stated, gesturing to the clouds of particles floating around the red head. "He has an incredible amount of chakra, even for someone of his age and caliber, which in turn is fed into the sand and gives it a life of its own. He keeps it with him at all times, and can stretch it as far out of range as he allows it. Heh… he has become so familiar with it that he knows the limits and strengths of every single one of his techniques. There is no one else in Sunagakure that can manipulate sand, save for him…"

"S-So… is it like a Kekkei Genkai, or something?" Kin asked.

"Years ago it was… but nowadays, fully fledged Sand Manipulators are hard to come by," he informed, watching as Neji rushed his opponent again, attempting to get by his opponent's defensive wall of sand. The red head backed up and threw his hand in front of him, a wave of sand pouncing off of the ground and making a grab for the Hyuuga, only for him to slip away at the last second, and barely avoid getting crushed by the mass of particles.

Gaara spun around on the spot and thrust both hands in front of him, taking careful aim with his sand and having the waves of it hovering around him form a protective shell around his defense range. Neji leapt straight at him through the wall of sand, smashing it like a Ming vase and skidding across the grainy floor beyond it. He thrust out with a palm strike, only for a pillar of sand to shoot up between him and his intended target, smacking him back into the remains of the sand shell of a wall. The Hyuuga back-flipped away, avoiding more of pillars jutting out after him.

Getting a safe distance away, Neji turned right and sprinted in an anti-clockwise direction around Gaara. He ran a semi-circle around and came at Gaara on the other side. However, he once again avoided a blast of sand flung at him, and was pursued relentlessly by it, forcing him into a full lap around Gaara in the opposite direction, before he shot forward again in an attempt for another strike.

However, a bigger wall got in between him and his opponent, and Neji could do little to get through it. Responding to the new defense, he retreated to get a better scope, looking up as the sand wall parted, revealing Gaara standing behind it, assumed in a defensive stance and glaring fiercely at the Hyuuga. The brown haired teen raised his palms into his most preferred style and glared back.

"No matter how many obstacles you put between you and me, I will overcome all of them," Neji stated, defining his stance again and bracing for an attack that could come at any moment. "Do you truly believe you can beat me like this? Hiding and cowering away from your opponent; unable to fight for yourself?"

"Do you say that as a genius or as a person blinded by his _own_ ambitions and misconceptions?" Gaara asked in his ragged, monotone voice. His brow furrowed, as he easily recognized the fires of anger and defiance blazing in Neji's eyes. "Ninja, who pursue victory to satisfy their lust for blood, or to simply elevate themselves above others, is not deserving of the title of shinobi. Our duty is to our kin and to those we care for…"

Neji smirked. "Who do you fight for then? Surely not for yourself?"

Gaara stayed silent for a moment. He then briefly glanced over at Naruto and his friends, then back to his siblings, who were staring down at the battle with concern for their younger brother's wellbeing. A few short seconds later, the Suna Genin looked back at Neji, his expression softened somewhat.

"I fight to protect my friends and family. That is my decision… my choice," Gaara replied. The Hyuuga frowned as he listened to his opponent, shifting to the side a bit, only for the wall of sand to unexpectedly react to his movements. A large hand formed and wrapped itself in the air, threatening to strike at him if necessary. "A good friend once told me that 'fighting to protect others is not weakness; it is something that makes a person _strong_, strong enough to overcome their _own_ weaknesses. Friends are people you love and look out for… people who can help you get back to your feet, and keep on fighting.' Whether or not we choose to fight to protect those we care for, will reflect upon you as a person, and can greatly affect your life."

"It's pointless," Neji said, adjusting his stance, and preparing to attack. "You cannot change your fate, no matter what you do! Fighting for the sake of others is meaningless because we are all bound by rules, obligations and duty, which ascend above free will. The freedom of choice is only a petty dream for weak fools!"

"I can see that you are like me… you carry a heavy burden of your own; a mark that is hidden behind a mask of anger and self-control," Gaara commented, forming a hand sign. "Do not belittle others just because they choose to fight for something else they believe in."

Neji lunged with his form blurring as he sprinted towards Gaara; the hand of sand encasing the red head exploding outwards and forming a round shield, which hovered right in front of the boy's mid-area. A split second later, a lance shot straight out of the shield, sand feeding into it to increase its length at a high velocity. The Hyuuga dodged right and continued forward, ducking and weaving through spikes shooting out along the length of the lance, attempting to slow him down, as he progressed forward unto his opponent.

Gaara leapt back and raised his right hand, a spiral of red sand forming above his palm. It then shaped and transformed into a highly dense dagger, the boy holding it behind him once it was created, and threw his other, free hand forward, as he stepped back for added distance. As soon as he thrust his left hand out, streams of sand shot out from behind him from his gourd and at Neji, looping and expanding, before converging upon the brown haired boy. The Hyuuga leapt straight over the point on which the sand collided with a loud bang, and landed atop of the thick streams. Using them as a bridge, he sprinted along the stream of sand and right over Gaara's defense, diving down at him, his right palm held back and ready to strike.

"Right into my trap!" Gaara shouted, stepping back and thrusting his left hand upwards. He clenched his fist, and a pillar of sand with a fist attached shot up from the ground in front of him. Neji flew right into its side, and pushed on through. His wind chakra helping him cut through the mass, the Genin exploded through the defense and struck a palm straight for Gaara's face.

Nothing stood between him and his target now.

"This match is over!"

"You're right…" Gaara replied.

Unexpectedly, with surprising agility, Gaara ceased control of his sand defenses and swiftly grabbed his opponent's wrist, maneuvering the strike away from any vital points. He twisted the arm as it flew past him and kicked at Neji's forward foot, tripping him forward. With his right hand, he brought it around and thrust the sand blade into the boy's shoulder, easily piercing straight through it. With rarely shown taijutsu prowess, Gaara tossed Neji flat onto his back, blade still impaled.

The Hyuuga gritted his teeth and bit back yells of agony, as he attempted to withdraw the blade, but was hampered by his opponent, who stood over him with pillars of sand floating around him, ready to defend if necessary.

Neji was at Gaara's mercy.

"Yield…" the Suna Nin demanded, glaring harshly. Neji spat as he sat up, hand still attempting to pull the curved knife out.

"Why don't you just finish it? I don't need your mercy!" Neji growled. Gaara grunted and stepped away, the sand blade in his opponent's shoulder suddenly being yanked out by an invisible force, earning a loud shout of pain from the victim. The blade then disintegrated back into sand and came to hover around the red head's form once again.

"Killing you won't make you see," Gaara stated, crossing his arms and allowing his sand to return to him. "You won't learn anything from it unless you experience it for yourself first hand… that people aren't bound by destiny. Life isn't just some straight line… it's a road that curves, winds, turns and bends at every step. By taking action, an ordinary person, even a genius such as yourself, can truly reshape your future." The Suna Nin backed off, still glaring at his opponent, who panted on the ground, covering the gaping hole in his shoulder.

The Hyuuga did nothing from there except sit, with the Genin teams on the balcony around the arena watching and listening to the conversation transpiring. Naruto had to smile at Gaara's own sense of morality and ideals, while applauding at his friends increase in strength from the last time they met. Lee was ecstatic at the fight that had taken place, along with everybody else, the crowds staggered at its sheer fury. Temari and Kankuro were also smiling on the sidelines, recovering from the terror of the fight. Even though their younger brother was in control of his actions, he was still a force to be reckoned with, both physically and mentally.

After a while, Neji got up and turned heel, limping out of the area and back to his balcony, Gaara watching him leave. Ryoko stepped forward, clearing her throat and raising a hand towards the Suna Nin.

"The winner of this match by opponent's concession, Gaara!" the swordswoman exclaimed. She smiled at the victorious Genin, who nodded back to her politely before returning to his balcony where his siblings stood. Baki congratulated him upon his return, and after receiving gratitude and comments from his brother and sister, went on to see who would be fighting next.

The scoreboard lit up; at the same time Neji slunk past Naruto's team. As he headed back to join his sensei, the blonde member of team seven stepped up and called out to him.

"Hey, Neji…"

The Hyuuga stopped and looked back at the spiky haired kid, who smiled a small smile in his direction.

"That match could have gone either way in a second," Naruto stated. "Keep at it… and maybe some day… things will be different…"

Neji stared at him for a moment, unable to conjure up any form of reply. The Uzumaki stepped back and gestured towards Hinata, who had come to join him at his side.

"I think you two should talk…" the blonde exclaimed, grinning. "It's been years after all… things have changed…" Hinata smiled kindly at her cousin, who hesitated for a moment at approaching or even looking at the soul heiress to the main branch family of the Hyuuga clan. However, after some careful thought, the boy nodded back and Hinata stepped forward, the two of them moving out of ear shot to talk. Naruto and Sakura looked happy to see Neji finally communicating with Hinata.

"Alright… the next fight will be between…" Ryoko looked up towards the board above the statue, as the next two random names bleeped into view. When everyone looked up towards the light up, excitement immediately bubbled to the surface when Naruto's name popped up alongside Kabuto's. "Well, well, well… if it isn't the brat and Kabuto! Come on down…"

Naruto smirked when he saw his name. Adjusting his straw hat, he leapt over the side of the railings and landed care free on the concrete floor below. As the floor hands quickly swept away the field of debris and repaired whatever damage they could, Kabuto made his way down and took up his position in front of Naruto at an appropriate distance. In the middle of them, Ryoko stood by and looked from one combatant to the other, both of them staring at each other.

Everybody was anticipating the next fight. Those who knew Naruto were eager to see him battle, while those who were aware of his own skills wanted to see how he actually fought to gain an upper hand if they ever crossed blades with him. The Jonin paid particular attention to both Genin, finding interest in the one who had copped out six times in a row, but favored this one above the others to actually stay in the game. However, aside from Jonin suspicions on the blue haired teen, the Genin were hyped up to see this next battle.

Even Tenten had come around mid-way through Neji and Gaara's fight to see how the remaining battles would turn out.

"Sweet! So it's Naruto and that guy, huh?" Tenten exclaimed as she leant over the railings, looking down at the blonde eagerly. "Who do you think will win?"

"Naruto, easy!" Lee exclaimed. "I know he will win! He won't quit! Just watch!"

"Things can change in a dramatic environment, Lee!" Gai said, but then grinned widely and held up a fist. "But if you stay true to your youth, then you will definitely move forward!"

"I'm not so sure about the guy Naruto is fighting," Kakashi said, raising his hand and locking his fingers around his chin in thought, as stared analytically down at the glasses wearing Genin from Konoha. "He's had less then a dozen C-Rank and D-Rank missions, and nothing else. But after spending such a long time as a Genin, it's strange he hasn't moved on until _this_ exam…"

"I think Kabuto looks like a really nice guy," Kiba exclaimed. "He smells right to me!"

"Looks can be deceiving," Sasuke said, his waist and chest all bandaged up, thanks to Kakashi. Arms folded, he looked over at his teammate. "You should know that better then anyone…"

"Wait till the fight starts… then we'll see what happens," Shino said, hands in his pockets and passive expression in play.

Team 10 looked on with much enthusiasm, much to Shikamaru's chagrin. Choji and Ino wanted to see Naruto's fight, seeing as that he made such a big impression on the Rookie 9 back on the escort mission. If he has gotten stronger since then, then this fight was definitely going to be an explosive one.

The Sand Siblings stood by patiently, also interested to see how the fight will unfold, while the Kiri Shinobi stood silently with a little less interest. They looked like they wanted to get this over and done with so that they could move on with whatever it was they were planning.

Ryoko grinned when she saw Naruto shift about nervously, easily making a judgment call on his mood.

"Eager to go I see?" Ryoko asked, earning a nod from Naruto and a neutral shrug from four-eyes. "No objections? Very well then…" The Konoha staff fixing the arena cleared out on her order, and immediately, once the floor was emptied of all nonessential staff, she raised a hand and dropped it. "Begin…" The swordswoman leapt back, giving herself plenty of space between herself and the two; knowing full well that the blonde Genin was a hard fighter.

Naruto stepped back a bit, but maintained his standing position as his smile turned to a frown, and his glare hardened on the teenage boy, who was taking the whole thing in stride up to this point. Kabuto just stood there, hands on his hips and grinning as the blonde prepared himself.

Silence fell and anticipation brewed as the audience waited for either one to make the first move.

"Let's make this a fun one… Naruto-kun," Kabuto exclaimed, pushing his glasses up his nose as they began to slip.

"I'm not here to play games," Naruto stated, his tone serious as he glared at the taller boy from under the shadows of his hat. "I'm here to win."

"Oh… you're so sure of yourself?"

"Don't act smart," the blonde snapped back, yet managed to maintain his cool. "It may have taken me a while to recall your face, but I've figured out who you are…" A smirk crossed his lips. "_Orochimaru's spy…_"

Kabuto's head perked up when he heard the whisper and furrowed his brow, expression also becoming serious. Being found out by this by meant that there was more to him then meets the eye, and in response to this new threat, he took a stance.

"How did you know?"

"On one of my last trips I made to Danzo's office, I happened across the old hawk's file on Orochimaru while I was combing out Itachi's… and your picture just happened to be sitting comfortably right inside of it," Naruto stated, flicking his wrists. Clusters of silver shuriken fell into his hands, and flashed as he spread them like cards between his fingers.

"So what do you intend to do? Kill me?" Kabuto hissed, a sneer similar to his master's spreading across his lips. "Do you honestly think that a shinobi of your rank can beat a Jonin level ninja? I've killed hundreds of ninja more powerful then you without even batting an eye… so don't think I will treat you any differently. With the information you've got on me, I'm afraid I won't be allowing you to live any longer."

"Well… now that you mention it," Naruto said, smirking. "Kumogakure is paying a million ryu to the person who can bring in _**your**_ head. After you kidnapped children with Kekkei Genkai abilities from their village to be used for your master's experiments, I shouldn't be surprised. I think it's time for me to collect…" the blonde exclaimed.

The two of them shared one more glare…

And then… they exploded into action…

Naruto swiftly threw his clusters of shuriken at Kabuto, the stars curving through the air at a high velocity, literally cutting streams as they approached. The medic nin ducked just in time to avoid, and as soon as he dropped down onto all fours, threw four kunai at the blonde, aiming high. The spiky haired shinobi leapt out of the way, at the same time, grabbing three kurai from his bandoleer and tossing it at Kabuto, meeting the oncoming shuriken thrown immediately after the kunai.

The airborne weapons clashed in mid-air, sparks flying. Before they could even hit the ground, Kabuto dashed forward, hands a lit with blue chakra. Naruto retreated the moment he spotted his opponent's immediate movements, tossing kurai and shuriken in the teen's direction to slow him down. Kabuto batted the blades aside one after the other, as he covered ground in just a matter of milliseconds.

Naruto back flipped when the boy lunged at him, landing against the side of the wall just below his team's walkway. He immediately kicked off of it, and flew straight at Kabuto, sending a straight kick at him. The blow landed against the medic nin's parry, when he blocked with his arm, but then the blonde did something unexpected and stepped on his face. Using his nose and forehead as a stepping stone, Naruto jumped over his opponent. Kabuto staggered back a bit, but then glared behind him as the blonde landed, his right lens cracked from the kick off.

Upon hitting the ground in a crouch, Naruto glanced behind him to see Kabuto rushing at him, chakra scalpels blazing. Smirking, the blonde spun around and leapt backwards through the air, cocking his wrist and causing a ball weapon to suddenly fall from his sleeve and into his waiting hand. In the blink of an eye, Naruto threw it. The weapon turned out to be a bola, which entangled Kabuto's ankles and tripped him. He fell flat forward, hitting the concrete ground hard.

Kabuto didn't have time to even groan in pain, as he looked up to see Naruto charging at him, kunai drawn. Reacting fast, the medic nin rolled over and lifted his legs, using his chakra scalpel to cut through the rope, before swiftly leaping back to his feet. He spun around with a roundhouse kick, hitting Naruto from the left, who blocked the powerful hit with a parry. The blow deterred the blonde and pushed him onto the defensive, Kabuto then lashing out with his chakra scalpels, attempting to hit his opponent, but missing as Naruto swiftly evaded the attacks. Eventually, after pushing the blonde back with enough hand to hand combinations, Kabuto managed to drive Naruto back into the wall on the other side, directly beneath the Sand Siblings.

Naruto glared as he watched Kabuto lunge in, a grin present on his face. When his opponent was in mid-strike, the blonde rushed forward and dived between the medic nin's legs, spinning both his legs in a cartwheel kick, which knocked the enemy off of his feet, through the air, and to the ground. Naruto quickly leapt back up to his feet and lunged at the downed Kabuto, his right hidden blade appearing in a flash.

However, just as Naruto came in for a hit, the supposedly staggered Kabuto unexpectedly shot body-first straight into the ground, disappearing into a small crater, while leaving disheveled concrete and flying dust in his wake. Naruto ended up hitting nothing but soft dirt, and blinked in surprise.

"That's…"

"Hiding like a Mole technique," Asuma said, blinking in shock. Everybody at this point was astounded by the speed of the fight displayed so far, with both Naruto and Kabuto moving around in blurs.

"Man, they're fast," Ino said. "I can barely keep up with them."

"This Kabuto is stronger then he looks," Shikamaru noted.

Anko was watching on with a smile at her student's strength, with Sakura, Kin and Hinata cheering in the background.

Spinning around, Naruto watched as Kabuto appeared on the far side of the arena by the statue, digging himself out of the concrete. When he managed to pull himself out fully, he wiped his lip of the blood trickling out, a result of his failed strike. He was not only bruised from Naruto's kick, but had also lost a tooth when he hit the ground with his face.

"He's stronger then I thought…" Kabuto murmured, holding up his right hand, his chakra scalpel appearing once again. _"I'm not as nimble as the boy and am certainly not that good at taijutsu… but I'm definitely faster and stronger then him…"_

Taking in a deep breath, Naruto yanked his hand out of the ground and withdrew his hidden blade. Taking aim, he dashed at Kabuto and leapt forward, landing half-way between them and thrusting his right hand out in an empty palm strike. But instead of chakra flying out, clusters of arrows suddenly shot out of his sleeves, and he fired three strikes at the boy. Kabuto blinked in surprise and leapt to his left, avoiding the first barrage. Drawing a curved kunai blade, he leapt to his feet and blocked the rest of them, catching the last arrow in his hand.

He looked at the projectile he caught closely, noting that they were simple serrated edges with no poison. A hissing sound caught his attention, and he looked down at the arrows that had landed around him, the feather ends wafting smoke. He then looked at the one he caught, eyes widening when he noticed the familiar markings etched on the feather tips.

"_Paper bombs!"_

_**BOOOOM!**_

The explosion that followed rocked the entire structure, the walkways shaking from the shockwave, and everybody covering their faces from the debris. Naruto stood back and watched as the blast of smoke and debris covered the entire statue and the area surrounding Kabuto, and waited as the smoke died down. The stunned crowds looked back, wondering if the boy was still alive after that attack. Team Kabuto's Jonin leader, the pale Konoha shinobi, looked down with a bit of concern, quite intrigued by the blonde Genin's strength and resourcefulness.

As the smoke began to lift, everyone in the area thought that Kabuto was done and dusted. But then, Naruto looked up in shock when he saw kunai attached with paper bombs suddenly come flying right at him out of the cloud. He ducked as the three kunai flew over head, the tags beginning to sizzle. As soon as they abseiled over him, they detonated safely behind him, Naruto clutching the top of his hat as the blasts of wind whipped around him. Glaring up, he saw Kabuto appear, kneeling in the middle of the crater, his clothes a bit singed and skin burnt.

The moment he saw his kunai detonate, he then leapt forward and tossed his next barrage at Naruto, this time they were genuine scalpels. The blonde leapt backwards through the air, avoiding the first five. Kabuto took aim at the boy as he flew backwards through the air, and tossed another barrage of scalpels at him. Naruto, unable to move in mid-air, was surely a sitting duck, as noted by his shocked expression. However, quickly forming a hand seal, a puff of smoke exploded in front of him, a clone jumping in front of him to take the bullet. That clone then placed both feet against the original's chest and pushed the original back down to the ground, while the copy took the barrage right in the chest, and disappeared upon being hit by the sharp blades.

"Clever," Kakashi commented, nodding his head at Naruto. _"Knowing he can't maneuver without help when already moving in one direction through the air, he got a clone to change the direction of his descent for him…"_

The original Naruto landed, skidding across the ground to a stop. Reaching the other far side of the arena, he glared up towards his opponent, who was now dusting himself down amidst the rubble of the floor.

"_Kabuto's a medic ninja… a good one at that. I've never seen anyone use chakra scalpels in combat so effectively, aside from Baa-chan…" _Naruto thought, while remaining knelt down on the ground where he was. He watched as Kabuto stepped casually out of the rubble and adjust his glasses. The blonde sweated nervously as his mind ran through some scenarios. _"I'm having a great deal of trouble fighting this guy. I have to avoid every attack he throws at me. If he touches me with his hands he could cripple me… and even worse… I think his kunai and scalpels are laced with poison…"_

Naruto winced when a cut on his shoulder stung him, the wound slowly closing up as the Kyuubi got to work fighting against the toxins in his blood stream. He had managed to catch a blade in the opening sequence of the fight, and after the first few minutes, the effects were beginning to take its toll. _"I think it's a paralysis poison… but I know my body can handle it…"_

Kabuto drew another cluster of kunai from his pouch and readied them, with Naruto furrowing his brow.

"I have to kill him…" The blonde then exploded into movement, beginning to sprint across the arena floor, charging at the four-eyed Genin.

"Take this!" Kabuto shouted, throwing barrages of kunai one after the other at his opponent rushing him. The blades cut through the air at a high velocity, definitely capable of causing significant damage if they hit.

Naruto continued sprinting towards his opponent, ducking and weaving past one kunai thrown at him after the other, while maintaining course. When he saw a whole barrage flying in his direction, he tipped his head forward and angled himself in his sprint, so that his straw hat shielded his entire upper-body. He ran head long into the kunai barrage, the blades effectively being deflected and knocked back by the armor plating on the roof of Naruto's straw hat.

Kabuto blinked in shock at the unexpected hat shield and continued throwing kunai at Naruto, stepping back. The kunai clanged loudly as they bounced harmlessly off of Naruto's hat as he sprinted forward. When he was within five meters of Kabuto, the blonde suddenly leapt through the air and spun like a corkscrew, keeping his head and hat pointed directly down at Kabuto. The medic nin threw kunai up at his opponent as he sailed right over him, but his blades once again bounced off of his shield.

A second later, Naruto landed on Kabuto's other side. Keeping his hat in position, he rushed forward again as Kabuto tossed kunai one after the other at him with no effect. Just as he was about to throw another one, the blonde caught his wrist and held, pushing it back. Naruto looked up and glared, pulling Kabuto forward and, with a great display of strength, side-kicked the older teen in the stomach, throwing him back with the force of the blow.

Kabuto back-flipped away, before coming to land a safe distance from his opponent, who now held the kunai he had confiscated off of him in between his fingers.

The spy then grinned cockily, with Naruto raising an eyebrow at his opponent's sudden gleam, and looked down. At his feet, he saw explosive tags patted to the ground, beginning to burn. Naruto had but a split second before they detonated, the blast of fire consuming him. Kabuto grinned and slapped his hands through a quick series of hand seals.

"_Fire Style: Mist Blaze Dance Technique!" _Kabuto shouted, inhaling sharply before exhaling a blast of visible wind. The wind engulfed the flames, effectively adding fuel to the fire. The fiery blasts of smoke detonated once again with even more force, the blast sending smoldering debris flying in all directions and rubble everywhere. The crowds looked on in shock, save for Gaara, Shino and the Kiri Shinobi, as the explosions would have definitely finished Naruto if he was caught in the middle of it.

When the fiery clouds lifted, Kabuto grinned when he saw the damage made; the large crater in front of the cracked statue, with the floor spaces that weren't reduced to rubble suffering blackened burns from the heat of the explosion. However, after a minute or so, the medic nin became a bit put off when he noticed that his opponent wasn't amongst the rubble. There were no traces of him whatsoever, the crowds blinking in surprise and worry. Soon, everybody was looking around, wondering what had happened to the blonde.

The Third Hokage, watching on in great interest, then looked up, with Gaara, Kakashi, Anko, Asuma and Shino following soon after.

"Look!" Ino shouted with her eyes directed up. Everybody looked up when she shouted, including Kabuto, the entire crowd now spotting Naruto hanging from the ceiling… well… to be more accurate, standing on it.

Arms folded and a little bit scorched from the explosion, the boy was glaring angrily down at Kabuto. The medic nin frowned and adjusted his glasses on his nose.

"_How the heck did he get up there? That's one hell of a jump…"_

"You're pretty quick on your toes," Kabuto commented. Naruto frowned even more. "But know that I'm not too impressed!" He stepped forward and threw a cluster of senbon up at the boy.

The blonde sprung back into action and sprinted forward across the ceiling, avoiding the senbon barrage and heading in Kabuto's direction. However, Naruto then unexpectedly dropped from the ceiling, spinning around and tossing a barrage of shuriken down at Kabuto. The older teen drew his curved kunai and blocked them, watching as Naruto spun upright in his fall. Just as Naruto did so, the blonde then unexpectedly back-flipped in his descent, throwing a kick.

A flash of light caught Kabuto's eye, and he blinked in shock when he noticed that Naruto had a hidden blade concealed in his sandal, and he had just thrown it. The kunai whipped through the air faster then his previously throws, but Kabuto blocked in, regardless.

Just as he did so, two hands suddenly shot out of the ground and grabbed his ankles, Kabuto looking down to see a shadow clone of Naruto grabbing him. Distracted for just those few seconds, the glasses wearing boy was unable to react fast enough when the original Naruto lunged right at him, right arm held back and hidden blade flashing into view. Kabuto held up his arms to block, but was struck right in the chest when Naruto struck out, both of them falling to the ground, with Naruto on top of him.

Naruto growled as he held his blade in place, with Kabuto biting back both the pain and a coughing fit. The blonde had punctured his lung.

"_Dammit, I missed his heart!" _Naruto thought.

Just then, Kabuto's right hand came up from his blind spot, chakra scalpel blazing. Caught off guard, Naruto received a killer blow to his chest, causing him to jump off of his opponent. Landing a safe distance away, the spiky haired boy clutched his chest and collapsed to his knees, his breathing becoming heavy and ragged.

"My lungs… shit!" Naruto rasped, panting.

Kabuto chuckled, despite having a punctured lung and got up. Everybody was shocked that he could still stand after suffering such a blow, and was even more so when the wound over his chest began to close up and heal, blue chakra wafting off of it. The medic nin was strolling passed Naruto's attacks, despite being caught off guard by a lot of them.

"You think you can beat me with a few fancy tricks and hidden weapons?" Kabuto asked, chuckling and wiping the blood running out of his mouth. He casually strolled over to Naruto, the boy still kneeling on the ground, panting and clutching his chest. "Though I admit I've never seen a Genin use them before, you are too weak…"

Naruto frowned as his opponent stood over him, watching as he raised his right hand threateningly, and activated one of his chakra scalpels.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted, gripping the railings and leaning over; scared for her boyfriend's well being.

"Oh no…" Kin and Hinata also looked on in concern as their teammate and comrade was brought to his knees before the taller boy. All of his friends were worried for him, Sasuke, Kiba, Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, and the Sand Siblings. The Jonin were a little bit anxious as to what Kabuto was going to do next, wondering if he was going to take this fight a little bit further. Even the Third was visibly distressed.

"I never knew I'd say this… but… I think he's done," Kankuro commented. Gaara furrowed his brow, hoping that his oldest of friends would be able to pull through this, while Temari laced her hands together and gritted her teeth, praying that the blonde would get up.

"You are no better then your friend Lee. This match is as good as mine…" Kabuto exclaimed, his glasses flashing in the light of his chakra.

Naruto, despite the pain, grinned at the boy and chuckled, blood trickling down from his mouth. "Dream on four eyes! I'm not done yet!"

Kabuto gasped in shock when Naruto unexpectedly sprang back to his feet. Attempting to stop him, Kabuto went in for a jab, but was put off when Naruto stepped on his upper right thigh of his forward leg, then stepping on his chest, then the arm coming in for that hook, knocking him off balance. The blonde then finished it with a swift, powerful roundhouse kick to the man's face, knocking him cart wheeling to the side. Everybody gasped in shock at the sudden movement and at the blow Naruto managed to land.

"Whoa!" Choji exclaimed.

"I did not see that coming," Gai said, blinking. He then grinned and thrust his fist forward. "Good one Naruto!"

Kabuto, landing rather painfully, glared up at his opponent, who, though still clutching his chest, was back on his feet.

"How?" He then noticed blue chakra radiating off of Naruto's fingertips of the hand clenching his trench coat, tapping at separate points around the wound inside his cavity. Kabuto blinked in astonishment. "That's…"

"You're not the only one who knows healing techniques," Naruto stated. "I may be abysmal at the concept of surgery, but I know quite a bit of field-medical jutsu…"

"_Kabuto clotted the airway passages around Naruto's lungs in the bronchi area, preventing him from breathing properly," _Anko thought, as she looked around at the astonished expressions of the Genin standing around. She smirked. _"Familiar with the structure of the human body, Naruto used his own version of the chakra scalpel, _Ninja Art: Feather Touch, _to undo the knots and get his breathing back to normal…"_

"Not bad… for a novice," the leader of the Kiri Ninja commented, his students nodding their heads in agreement.

The Jonin leader of Kabuto's team grinned widely and looked down at the blonde haired boy, who has yet to crumble under his best, right-hand man's skill and strength. Kabuto was an incredibly formidable ninja, in a league entirely of his own, and even though the older teen was just playing with Naruto, he apparently still had his hands full with the blonde.

"_This one is proving to be a very promising candidate…"_ the Jonin exclaimed, licking his lips excitedly. _"Naruto-kun… Sasuke-kun…Kiba-kun…Hinata… all of them will prove useful to me in the future…"_

Kabuto, not wanting Naruto to fully recover, pulled out his curved kunai and lunged, striking with a hook. Naruto met him half way with a tanto drawn, and clashed blades with the glasses wearing boy. The medic nin lashed out at him, with the blonde countering on every swing, sparks flying between them as they leapt around the area, locked in blade-to-blade combat.

Skidding away from each other, Naruto repositioned his blade in his hand, same as Kabuto, who smirked at the boy.

"How long do you expect to keep this up?"

Naruto frowned and charged, lashing at his opponent. Kabuto grinned and dodged to avoid, and struck down at the kid who overshot his strike. However, when he expected to hit, the blonde surprised him once again when he suddenly vanished right in front of him. Startled, Kabuto backed away and looked around the air space in front of him, finding no trace of the boy. However, he heard a footstep 'crunch' behind him and spun around, blocking a strike from the boy who appeared only for a brief second, but then vanished in a fade-out effect. Kabuto blinked in confusion and quickly switched to the defensive, looking around wildly. Everybody standing around on the walkway was also startled, including the Jonin, who were attempting to follow the blonde Genin's movements.

"What the?" Asuma sputtered.

"Where is he?" Shikamaru looked around, also puzzled by Naruto's sudden disappearing act.

"I can't see him? What the heck is Naruto doing?" Shino asked, looking over at Sasuke and Kiba, who were also thrown off by the boy's disappearance. "Kiba, can you sniff him out?"

The brown haired by nodded, and looked over at his teammate. "He's still there… but… it's like he's everywhere. I can't pin him down…" Kiba replied, sniffing the air, and attempting to hone in on Naruto's scent signature. "Yeah… he's definitely still there…"

Neji and Hinata activated their Byakugan to try and find Naruto, but other then Kabuto dancing around from left to right, blocking kunai strikes as indicated by the sparks flying through the air with every swing of his weapon, there was no trace of Naruto. Kakashi lifted up his headband and tried to find Naruto, with Sasuke doing the same, both of them bewildered by the turn of events.

"How is he doing that?" Kakashi asked.

Anko smirked, and so did Sakura, both of them recalling the blonde's newly created teleportation jutsu.

"_The improved version of the Chameleon Techniques," _Anko exclaimed. _"It's not as practical in terms of long range combat as of yet, but still clever…"_

Kabuto growled and spun around, blocking another strike, which came in just too close for comfort.

"What the hell!" he shouted, unable to attack, let alone see his opponent long enough to land a blow. "Where the hell are you?"

A sharp pain hit his back when unexpectedly, the sound of 'twangs' were heard when arrows became impaled in his back shoulder, staggering him forward. Naruto then suddenly appeared right in front of him, and slashed across at his chest with his tanto blade, drawing blood. Staggered, Kabuto backed off and collapsed to his knees, looking up at Naruto, who was now standing in front of him assumed in a fighting stance, his blade covered in blood.

"What… the heck… is that technique?" Kabuto hissed.

"An old one, actually…" Naruto exclaimed. "It's simple; basically I use the light of day to my advantage to hide from you in plain sight…"

"But… how?" Kabuto spat, gritting his teeth and clutching the wound at his chest as it slowly healed.

"I'll evaluate for you," Naruto said, grabbing his trench coat and emphasizing the pure white of the outside. "It's a chameleon technique. The human eye sees on a color spectrum of 0 to 14, with zero being white and fourteen being black, with all the other colors in between. If you were to convert the color spectrum to a grey scale, white and black remains the same, whereas the rest of the spectrum is a hazy grey. The human eye can only see things from six upward to nine, the Sharingan and Byakugan forward upward from five to ten, and Rinnegan four and upward to eleven. I take advantage of the color zones zero and fourteen only, because humans can't see anything in those colors. It's like staring directly into the white of the sunlight or trying to see in the pitch black of night. Light doesn't discriminate between color, which means that I can stand here… and you can't see me…"

Kabuto gasped in shock when Naruto suddenly vanished right in front of him again. He lunged forward and attempted to strike, but ended up missing him entirely. He huffed furiously, getting tired of this cat and mouse game.

"That's impressive," Kakashi commented, eyes wide. His students also joined him in their gawking. "He's invented a technique that can make any eye, no matter how good it is, blind…"

"_Hmm… impressive,"_ the Third Hokage thought, smiling brightly. _"Just like his father, innovative…"_

"While you can't see me, I can see you as if you were wearing black and standing in white light," Naruto said, appearing out of thin air behind Kabuto. The teen glared behind him, striking at him again, only for Naruto to hop back a tad, which resulted in his opponent missing clumsily. "Also, because I blend in with both light and shadow, I can use those two elements to travel from one spot to another without being seen…" He disappeared again, and a few seconds later, he reappeared on top of the hand-seal statue. Kabuto and the audience wasn't able to locate him for a solid several seconds till he spoke up, his voice loud enough for everybody to hear. "This is what truly defines a shinobi, a warrior of the night that cannot be seen. And the best thing about it, only _I_ can use this technique…"

Kabuto growled and took a stance. _"So that's why he is wearing bright colors… I can't even see him, even if he is standing right in front of me…" _Kabuto sweated nervously, watching as Naruto then suddenly faded from the statue, and appeared on the ground twenty meters away a few seconds later in front of him. _"He's dangerous…"_

Naruto frowned and threw both his arms out, his hidden blades shooting out of his sleeves.

"You're mine!"

Kabuto grinned and raised his hand, watching as Naruto rushed him and then vanished right in front of him. However, this didn't mean the teen was about to give up. Concentrating hard he timed to dash and, at the last second, dodged to the side. Swiping his hand across, blue chakra wire shot out of his finger tips like a net across the arena. Upon its full extension, it jerked violently, and suddenly, Naruto reappeared, caught in the wire.

"You may travel with the light, but that doesn't mean you're impervious to attacks," Kabuto exclaimed, wrapping the wire around Naruto as he stood trapped, struggling against the bounds. "Your attack pattern is too predictable, and you still maintain your body's shape and form when you refract the light! You may be invisible, but not invincible. That's its main weakness."

Naruto glared over at the boy as he struggled against the wire. "Well… that's one flaw…"

Kabuto grinned, but then blinked in shock when Naruto suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke, and the real one reappeared right behind the teen, smirking.

"I can still use my clone jutsu with it though…"

Naruto lunged, Kabuto spinning around fast, chakra scalpel blazing around his curved kunai. With a yell of anger and a powerful swipe, the glasses wearing by struck just as Naruto lashed at him with his kunai. However, the counter from his opponent caught the blonde blindly and unexpectedly, with Naruto yelping in pain when he rushed past in continuing his strike. But his strike didn't hit, it only cost him.

Kabuto grinned as blood splattered through the air, and he looked behind him. "Your attack pattern is easy to follow. You attacked from behind four times already…"

Everybody gasped when they saw Naruto's right arm fly off from its host, and hit the ground some ways away, blood splattering everywhere. The Jonin teachers and the students were all shocked at what had happened.

"NARUTO!" Sakura cried.

"His arm!" Hinata shouted, gripping the railings tightly and staring down in horror. Kin was doing the same thing, unable to speak at the sight of her savior's right arm being taken clean off.

"He sliced his arm off," Anko hissed, gritting her teeth angrily. _"The bastard…"_

The Sand Siblings were also shaken up by the sight, with Gaara stepping forward and preparing to jump in. A lot of the other Genin were considering doing the same thing, but after Naruto staggered to a stop, he held his other hand out and shouted at them, rather angrily due to the pain.

"DON'T YOU DARE STOP THIS MATCH!" Naruto roared. He then glared over at Ryoko, who was looking at him, stunned. "I'm not giving up! This is my fight! I will finish it!" the boy concluded, before gripping his stump of a shoulder in agony. Kabuto chuckled as he looked at the boy's state as blood leaked down from what was left of his arm, before glancing down at the rest of it on the floor. The teen fixed his glasses as he sheathed away his bloodied kunai.

"You should just give up, Naruto-kun," Kabuto exclaimed. "No matter how many tricks you pull, you won't be able to beat me. Hell, we could do this all day if you still had your arm attached." The boy grinned maliciously at the blonde. "But now… you won't be able to perform any jutsu for the rest of your life…"

Naruto panted heavily as he stood where he was, noting the blood covering the floor and the amount there was. However, the sight did not deter him at all, and the blonde grinned up at the glasses wearing teen. Kabuto raised an eyebrow at him in return, surprised the kid wasn't crying or anything.

"Man, I can't believe this happened to me _**again**_," Naruto exclaimed through gritted teeth, earning blinks of surprise from everybody watching. "I mean… sure I lost my left hand and my right leg, but now my right arm? Geez… I'm going to look like friggin Frankenstein by the time I'm eighteen…"

"What?" Kabuto blurted.

"Only this time I don't have Baa-chan to fix my up…" Naruto chuckled, shaking his head. "I always pissed her off whenever this happened… guess I'm the only one to blame." He then looked back up, closing his eyes and sighing. Unbeknownst to everybody else, the blonde was having a quiet feud between him and the beast he had caged inside of his stomach, the demon now fuming in the black void of Naruto's mind. The fight only lasted for a few seconds, but Naruto eventually returned to the land of the living, a smile still worn on his face. "Guess I'll have to grow it back now…"

Kabuto laughed at him. "You've got to be kidding me? Grow it back! You naïve fool!" the teen laughed incredulously. "I don't think you fully understand the gravity of your situation. You must have lost a whole lot more blood then it looks…"

"Oh, I understand it clearly…" Naruto shot back. Smiling, he looked up towards the balconies where everybody stood, watching on in fear and shock. His friends were scared for his well-being and his life, the Genin hanging onto the railings, and watching the drama unfold. Looking into their eyes, he could tell they ere all desperate to help, but he didn't want to inconvenience them, not now, and certainly not during his fight.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan… Hinata-chan…" he looked over at the Sand Siblings, grinning. "But I'm going to have to show you my ugly side for once… it's not going to be pretty…"

"Uhh… what is he talking about?" Kankuro asked, looking over at Gaara and Temari, both of them having their full and utter attention on Naruto.

Naruto turned back to Kabuto. "You're in for a surprise…" the boy formed a hand seal, as if he were gathering chakra. His opponent grinned.

"Don't bother using any jutsu. You can't anyway…" the boy stated.

"Oh really?" A wide smirk formed on Naruto's lips. All of a sudden, he began flipping through hand seals, much to Kabuto's shock, with his one good hand. Everybody else also looked on in surprise, watching as the blonde began performing a jutsu, using recognizable hand seals formed by the left hand and its digits.

"One hand?" Tenten gasped.

"B-But that's… impossible!" Lee shouted.

"I've never seen that before," Asuma blinked, watching on in unease. _"After losing his entire arm, there is no way he will be able to maintain consciousness for long…"_ A lot of the Jonin present were astounded, the Third Hokage also slightly awed by the display.

"_He must have picked that up from Haku,"_ the old man exclaimed in his head.

"What does he plan on doing?" Choji asked, furrowing his brow. "No human can grow their arm back…"

Naruto grinned when he heard the comments coming in, forming his last hand seal and assuming a stance.

"I'm an impossible human… not normal at all," he quipped. Gritting his teeth, he concentrated his chakra around his stomach, and redirected it towards his arm. Blue wind energy began radiating off of him, with Kabuto becoming a little bit concerned at the amount of chakra being dished out by the boy. He stepped back, watching as blood spurted from the open wound and ceased, followed by a strange, bone crunching noise to accompany the sounds of twisting wind forming around the blonde.

Growling in agony, Naruto concentrated as hard as he could without passing out. As his chakra level skyrocketed, the ground at his feet cracked and split. Then, all of a sudden, a new arm shot out of Naruto's shoulder, replacing the one that was cut off. Blood splattered everywhere as the new, blood red appendage appeared.

Kabuto gawked, eyes widening in shock. This expression caught on with everybody in the entire room, including the proctor, the Third Hokage, the Kiri Shinobi, and everybody else who had never seen a person regrow a limb. It was truly a shocking, terrifying and amazing sight. However, the best was yet to come.

As Naruto's eyes repeatedly flashed between the colors of blue and red, bubbly, red chakra began to waft off of his newly grown, blood red arm, blue chakra also surrounding and sheathing the red. This unusual chakra surrounded the new limb and took shape, and what looked like three tails, suddenly grew out of Naruto's shoulder. His trench coat burned away, and the blonde removed his straw hat, allowing the tails to whip about freely. Several seconds later, the rest of the body growing out of his arm appeared

At first the crowd thought it was a person, but then when it grew ears and developed a more toned form, it turned out to be the Four-Tailed upper body of the Nine-Tailed Fox. Its yellow eyes glowed brightly and its teeth bared threateningly.

Aside from Naruto, the demon was pissed.

"Whoa!" Ryoko jumped back at the freakish sight, grabbing her sword. "Stranger danger!"

"W-W-What the hell is that?" Ino piped, peering over the railings, terror struck.

"You got me there! But whatever it is, that is _not_ a normal sight," Kiba commented, eyes wide.

Sasuke, Shino and Kakashi were silently gawking, eyes wide and sweating profusely. Team Gai was in a similar state of shock and disbelief, with even the eccentric members unable to come up with any snappy lines or comments. Team 7 was just as shocked as everybody else, Sakura and Hinata staring horror struck alongside Kin and Anko. Those with a doejutsu attempted to analyze the manifestation growing out of Naruto's limb, but they were unable to determine what it really was. Even the Sand Siblings were speechless, staring down at Naruto, all of them stunned and in states of disbelief.

"W-What the hell is that demon?" Kabuto shouted, leaping back and drawing a kunai as he glared at the blonde and his…'friend'. _"It can't be, but it is. No doubt…"_

"_That's the spiritual and physical essence of the Nine-Tailed Fox," _the Third thought, furrowing his brow. _"The only one to have been able to gain this much control over the demon was Mito Uzumaki, and even then she had trouble. But Naruto is way too young to be able to control the Kyuubi, let alone have it heal a fatal breach in the container. When on earth did he learn how to produce and control its power to such a degree?"_

The Kiri Shinobi above stared in astonishment, even Eclipse. The blind girl was shaking from head to toe, feeling the immense amounts of dark energy spilling onto the arena. The one who was twitching and fidgeting the most was the hooded student with the staff on his back. He was watching the fight with absolute intent and interest, unable to believe that there was another one like him in this village.

The pain subsiding, Naruto grinned and let some more of the Kyuubi spill out, the rest of the Four-Tails' body dropping onto the ground. It crouched right next to Naruto with its forth tail still attached and keeping it linked to Naruto's newly grown arm, while the other three tails whipped around behind it, angrily. It growled that haunting, menacing threat, letting Kabuto know he was in big trouble.

"I don't normally rely on my prisoner, but I only bring him out when necessary," Naruto stated, sweating a bit as he glared from under the shadows over his eyes. "Maybe I should let him have a go at you…"

Kabuto growled and lunged bringing his kunai around to strike at the boy. But the fox quickly got in the way and lunged at the medic nin. With a loud growl, it lashed out at the enemy, its arm extending and stretching. The enlarged hand struck Kabuto full on like a train, and ran him straight into the wall on the other side of the arena. The shockwave to follow shook the entire building, before the demon manifestation retracted its claw.

The Kyuubi growled as it downed the dangerous Genin, before suddenly retracting back into its host. Naruto and everybody else watched as the Kyuubi got sucked back into the limb, before disappearing entirely. The cloak of red chakra and blue chakra surrounding the blonde's arm vanished, leaving a perfectly new, re-grown limb. Naruto chuckled and flexed them arm as if nothing had happened, feeling new muscles he had never used before move his wrist, hand and fingers.

"Ahh… that's better," Naruto exclaimed, turning to look up at his friends and showing them his new hand. "Look! New hand! I love my new hand!"

He was unable to get a response. Everybody was still gawking at him as if he had just come back from the grave.

"Sue me why don't you, geez," Naruto shook his head and glared back at his opponent, who was still splattered against the wall.

Kabuto, his chest and stomach deep-fried by the Kyuubi's burning paw and poison, pulled himself out of the concrete and staggered forward, panting heavily from sustaining such damage. The blonde Genin grinned and circled round, watching as his opponent limped around as well, both of them exhausted and glaring at each other.

"You're a… freak… a monster," Kabuto spat, blood dribbling from his mouth and accompanying his slurred words.

"Look who's talking," Naruto breathed out, catching his breath from his recovery. His vision started to blur as a result of unleashing the Kyuubi's chakra and shaping it with his own. "You kill for a living, whether they are ninja or innocent people, and you call me a monster? We're one in the same you and I…" He stopped, and turned towards the teen with a sneer on his face. "The only difference between you and me though is that when I die, I sure as hell won't be riding the same boat as you…"

Kabuto growled and activated his chakra scalpel for the last time, glaring at the brat through bloodied eyes. "I'll kill you for this…" With a yell he charged, bringing his hand around to deliver the final blow.

Naruto grinned and rushed forward as well, bringing his right hand back, and preparing to strike. He didn't plan on using his assassin's blade this time.

He had something else in mind…

Noticing the two ninja charging at each other, everybody snapped back into reality and watched closely, wondering who was going to win this one. The signs that the battle was drawing to a close was ever present, and the audience held its breath in anticipation.

"Go Naruto! Beat him!" Sakura shouted.

"Naruto-kun… you can do this!" Hinata also yelled.

"Go for it, Naruto!" Kin shouted. Anko grinned, watching her student finish with a running start.

"_Go gaki…"_

The rest of the Genin broke out into cheers as well as Naruto approached his opponent, his grin widening as a result.

"_So I'm not a lost cause after all…" _Naruto thought, at the same time, ducking underneath Kabuto's strike. _"They still cheer for me… even after that…"_ With a shout, the boy lunged up with his left hand and grabbed Kabuto's face, holding him tightly and thrusting forward, holding the teen back, who stared in shock down at the blonde. With his free hand, Naruto kept Kabuto's chakra scalpel out of reach.

Inside, Naruto was smiling. _"You can't ask for better friends…"_

"W-What…" Kabuto choked, Naruto's hand pressed up against his face.

"I've always wanted to try this!" Naruto exclaimed, gritting his teeth and concentrating what remained of his chakra. All of a sudden, Kabuto started crying out in agony as he felt the inside of his head suddenly turn into mulch. Seconds later, the medic ninja's eyes exploded, with blood and pieces of brain shooting out of his eyes, nose, ears and mouth, when blue chakra began swirling in a high rotation inside his own head. The blonde Genin grinned at the results and lifted the teen off of his own feet, despite being much shorter, and threw him back across the arena. "RASENGAN!" The boy roared, literally turning the inside of Kabuto's head and brains into soup.

He threw Kabuto away, whatever was left of the boy staggering back across the arena. Finishing the attack, Naruto spun around and sent a side-kick into the boy's chest. At the bottom of his kicking foot, a small ball of blue chakra spun, signifying a second Rasengan forming at the base of his foot.

"_Uzumaki Rasengan Kick_!" He thrust it straight into Kabuto's chest, the blast of wind erupting seconds later propelling the boy through the air and straight into the hand statue. The Genin's corpse twirled and spun violently, before hitting the statue's fingers and breaking through the solid rock. Seconds later, he, along with the rubble that was the remains of the finger, collapsed to the floor into a disheveled and uneven pile, one on top of the other.

Naruto panted and lowered his leg from the kick, returning to a normal standing position.

Everyone stood stunned for a few seconds. This then erupted into applause and cheers, mostly from the Sand Siblings, Team 7, and Ryoko down on the arena floor, who threw both her hands up in excitement.

"GOAL!" she laughed, pointing towards Naruto. "Winner of this round, Naruto! Way to go, brat!"

"YOSH! Well done, Naruto-kun!" Lee exclaimed.

"He's gotten much stronger from before," Asuma said, smirking. "His style and speed has improved, and he's got an awesome roundhouse kick to boot…"

"Well, that was scary," Shikamaru groaned, still shaking in his sandals.

"I sure don't want to get on his bad side," Choji said, gulping. "You know… that _thingy_… whatever it was…"

"That was so **hot**!" Ino exclaimed, clapping her hands together and cheering happily, love hearts dancing around her. This earned an odd look from Shikamaru and Choji.

"_**Seriously?" **_they both inquired, stunned.

"Go Naruto!" Tenten cheered. "You showed him who was boss! Unleash the beast! Don't let anybody pick on you!" It was at that second to last statement that had Neji sigh and look away in embarrassment.

"Am I, Sasuke and Shino the only ones who don't go all out on exclamations_…"_ he then looked up and stared strangely at Kiba and Shino, who were both cheering.

"Awesome bout! Where's the second round?" Kiba cheered, Akamaru, who had finally woken up, barking happily.

"Way to go, Naruto!" Shino bawled happily. Neji groaned and slumped over.

"I'm alone…"

Sasuke was clapping, but still a little bit creeped out by the fact that Shino was actually bawling with happiness. Kakashi was himself as usual, characteristically eye-smiling and nodding his head at Naruto in congrats.

"_He's starting to act more and more like his father…"_

In spite of all cheering, Naruto was really unable to respond to any of them when he suddenly passed out and collapsed in the middle of the arena, a sleepy smile on his face and swirly eyes.

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

_**

* * *

**_

Omake

"Yo, Zabuza-sensei!"

The designated swordsman, who was happily walking down the road with his head buried in the latest Icha Icha book, glanced around when he heard his name called. He recieved quite a surprise when he saw Sakura and Hinata run up to him, both of them looking quite happy and energetic today.

"Oh, it's you two brats... what's up?" he asked.

"We just wanted to ask you... how did you first meet N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

"Huh?"

"Yeah, we're just going around asking people how they first met Naruto, and what did they first think of him and stuff, you know," Sakura exclaimed, fidgeting nervously. "It's because well... he's been all around the place... it's hard not to be curious."

"Oh, so you want to know how I first met the gaki?" Zabuza queried, shutting his book and pocketing it. He then held his chin in thought, looking away. "Okay, let's see if I remember... oh yes...!"

_Flashback... seven years ago..._

_"Ahh... this is nice," Naruto exclaimed, as he and his sensei sat comfortably in the hotsprings, towels on their heads and the hot steam floating around them. The six year old blonde was really enjoying the springs, his happy, go lucky nature allowing him to openly comment about it and bond with his master. "I should come here more often..."_

_"Yes, the hot springs in the Hidden Grass Village are something else brat," Jiraiya quipped, raising a sake glass to his student. "Remember, vigorous exercise comes hand in hand with relaxation. This is important, so learn it well..."_

_"Yes, sensei!"_

_Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto then spotted a tall man with a huge sword on his back, kneeling beside the bamboo fence that divided the girls half from the guys half of the springs. He was giggling to himself as he peered into the uncensored live-action show known as 'babe watch'. Naruto became curious and looked over at his master._

_"Sensei, what is that man doing?"_

_Jiraiya looked on over as well, blinked, then looked back, a proud grin forming on his face. "My boy, that gentleman is practicing the most noble art bestowed upon everybody at the hotsprings! It is called, researching!"_

_"Researching?" Naruto asked._

_"Yes, lad! Researching! Sometimes, people find it hard to get through life, and when they come to the hotsprings, they look for 'inspiration' to keep them going. The beauty of researching is the most thrilling and dangerous of escapades, but it is well worth every second!" Jiraiya said, taking a sip from his sake. "In just a moment, I too will be Researching, all for my latest, upcoming book!"_

_"Oh... okay!" Naruto paddled over to where the tall man with the Zambatou, and pushed himself out of the hot bath, walking up to man. The tall stranger with the gauze masked looked down at the boy, who grinned up at him. "Can I do some Researching too mister?"_

_"Oh... umm... sure... strange... boy," Zabuza murmured and stepped back, Naruto hopping over and taking a look._

_It took only one glance to change the fates of both men..._

_"Hey, there are naked girls in here...!"_

_End Flashback..._

"...and immediately after he said that, both me and Jiraiya were beaten to within an inch of death by Tsunade and hospitalized for a week!" Zabuza exclaimed, dusting his hands down and folding his arms. "Yes... we were two of the many casualties of Researching, but it was well worth it to teach the boy the risks of such a great venture!" He looked back down at the two girls to see both of them seething angrily, and glaring daggers up at the swordsman. Cracking their knuckles, they advanced on the much taller swordsman, who sweated nervously and backed away. "Uhh... was it something I said?"


	35. The Third Test part 3

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_The Third Test Part 3_

_**Preliminary Round 9…**_

"Well… it's confirmed that Kabuto is definitely dead," Anko informed her team and the rest of the Jonin and Genin standing on their walkway, hands in her pockets and looking quite proud of herself. "And boy… the clean up crew said that his body was the best damn corpse they had inspected so far…"

"How bad was it?" Kiba asked curiously, earning strange glances from his friends.

"Do you _**really**_ want to know? Really? Kiba?" Sakura asked. "I mean, the guy got tossed around like a ragdoll out there and still managed to get up. What does that tell you? His insides are probably jelly by now…"

"Well, you're not wrong there, pinky," Anko exclaimed, rubbing the back of her head and grinning widely. "Actually, accounting for all of the major damage, his entire front body was deep fried like a Sunday barbeque, the organs inside his ribs exploded, and the entire inside of his head was reduced to nothing but juices. On top of that his bones broke like chopsticks and he voided his bowels. I have to say, it was not fun moving the body from this room…"

Choji took a second to walk over to the railings and throw up over the side, while everybody else turned several different shades of blue and white, including Asuma, who lit a cigarette to compose himself. Kiba held in his lunch, and Ino nearly passed on. On the other hand, Neji was lucky that Gai was behind him to catch him when _he_ nearly fainted. The Sand Siblings, who had joined them several minutes earlier to check on their friend, were now feeling a little bit queasy from the description, except Gaara who was able to hold it together. The beating Kabuto received was perhaps the worst carnage the Rookie Nine had ever seen and heard of in their entire lives, and it was all thanks to one of them.

"Did you at least get the head for me…" a low groan echoed from below. Anko and everybody else looked down to see a now conscious Naruto lying slumped up against the wall. His head was awkwardly leaning to the side, yet a grin remained plastered on his exhausted face. "Hi all…"

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata exclaimed, swooping down and embracing him in a tight hug. Sakura and Kin followed with the young Genin chuckling as he rested into their loving embraces. However, after a few seconds the three girls pulled away, puzzled.

"Man… why are you so slack all of a sudden? Your arms stopped working?" Sakura asked.

"Oh right…" Naruto replied while unintentionally looking down at his body when he suddenly slumped over. Kin slowly bent him straight back up so that he could look at everybody else standing around him. "Thanks Kin-chan… I… well… to be blunt, I can't move…" the blonde said.

Everybody stared as he looked around, his face being the only thing he was able to apply movement to. With great effort, the boy attempted to move his right arm, but was only able to move his fingers. The rest of his body was sore and numb all over.

"Seriously? You can't move?" Kiba asked, with Choji coming to stand next to the Inuzuka, wiping his mouth clean.

"Yup. I won't be able to move for the next twenty-four hours. The best I can do from here on out is rest it off," Naruto replied. He then noticed the lecherous grins from Anko, Sakura, Ino, and a lot of the other people who wanted to cause the by some grief. The blonde groaned in dismay, now wishing he hadn't said that. "Oh God… please no…"

"NARUTO-KUN!" Ino shouted, diving at him and kissing him full on, on the lips. The blonde went wide-eyed and nearly passed out again altogether, whereas everybody either looked away or just took photographs. Well, Anko did anyway, everybody else just waited awkwardly.

"Excuse me!" Ryoko called up to the group on the walkway. Everybody turned to see the red head glaring up at them for being ignored, and gestured over to the display board with the next two names on it. "Which one of you guys is Shino?"

Everybody parted a bit and let their quietest member step forward, his hands in his pockets and stoic expression in constant play. He looked down at the arena floor, making sure he was visible. The swordswoman smiled and nodded her head, and turned towards the other balcony, where the Kiri Ninja were standing. "Yo, whoever is named Miki, come on down…"

The blind girl from the Kiri team raised her hand. Slowly, with the directional aid of Eclipse, began making her way down to the arena floor via the stair case. Shino did so to, with everybody else watching as the girl tapped her way using the stick and the walls to find her way. Kiba snorted and folded his arms.

"This ought to be good…"

"Hey, go easy on her," Sasuke said, thumping the boy in the shoulder, hard. The boy winced and rubbed the bruise.

"She may be blind, but she was able to get through the _Forest of Death_ without a scratch," Tenten said, analyzing the girl as she slowly walked down the stairs. "That's saying something about her actual abilities…"

"Or her teammates helped her," Sakura suggested, shrugging.

"Either way, this next battle should be interesting," Kakashi murmured. The teams returned to the balcony's railing, with Temari, Kin, Sakura and Hinata hanging back to take care of Naruto, and help him up to watch the next fight to come.

When Shino reached the center of the arena and waited patiently for his opponent, it took the girl named Miki about twenty minutes to actually make her way down the stairs, and navigate her way across the arena. It took the kimono wearing girl some time, but she eventually managed to find her place in front of Shino, and stood patiently, holding onto her staff, her parasol fixed on her back. Ryoko nodded as she looked between both of them, seeing Shino staring passively at his opponent, and Miki fidgeting nervously.

"Alright then… if we have no objections…" Ryoko raised her hand, and dropped it as per her routine. "Begin…"

Shino assumed a stance, watching as his opponent backed away a bit, looking away under his intense glare. Everybody at this point was having doubts about whether this girl would be able to put up a good enough fight, let alone a fight at all. Shino was incredibly strong, and a lot of the Genin knew that for sure, perhaps one of the strongest of the Rookie Nine next to Naruto. Even so, if this girl wasn't even going to attack, then they might get a limited scope as to how strong Shino actually was now.

The boy's glasses flashed as he stared at the girl. After about five minutes, everybody sort of lost interest, and began staring bored down at the pair. Since Naruto's battle, the remaining battles didn't seem like much at this point.

"If you do not wish to fight… you may throw in the towel," Shino stated, seeing the girl look in his direction. "I don't want to hurt you if you do not wish to fight back. Even then, I don't wish to cause you any unnecessary harm…"

Miki looked the by in the eyes or… well… stared, and smiled a few seconds later. Blushing lightly, she nodded her head.

"Y-You're very kind… I can respect that," she timidly replied. "Only really strong ninja can m-make such an assessment… and offer to a-act on it…"

Shino nodded back at her.

"Thank you…"

The white haired girl nodded, and closed her eyes. Her smile became an almost Sai like smile, and she gave her a final answer.

"Now, I'm afraid you're going to _die_…"

Shino was a bit caught off guard. But then suddenly, the girl exploded into movement. In the blink of an eye, the girl unexpectedly drew a long Iaito from her smooth cut bamboo walking staff, and lunged at him. The Aburame was unable to catch the girl's movements; she was so fast, able to cover the distance of thirty meters between them in a split second. Her body became a blur when she slashed out at him, aiming to slice his head off. Shino, quick as he could, ducked under the blurred slash and leapt forward; avoiding five more slashes she executed in just under a second. Miki's sword slashes were but flashes through the air. While she showed no movement whatsoever other then the last strike, she movements betrayed everybody's eyes due to her incredible speed.

The bug user, barrel rolled in his dive and leapt back to his feet, standing back up and spinning around, obviously startled. Cuts all over his jacket and a lone one across his cheek were a result of avoiding the girl's unexpected and deadly barrage.

"What?"

"What the hell just happened?" Kiba asked loudly, gesturing down at the arena. "Did I just have a stroke or what?"

"I think we all did," Sakura commented, helping to carry Naruto, who was looking down at Miki, stunned. In fact, everybody was in states of shock including the Sand Siblings, having not expected the girl to explode with such speed and movement.

"Yosh! She is incredibly fast!" Lee shouted. "Not even I could keep up with her!"

"She just ran forward, and lunged, but Shino looks like he just leapt through an electric pencil sharpener! What is up with that?" Shikamaru asked, looking up at Asuma who was also scratching his head.

"It was there, I could see it," Asuma stated, looking over at Anko and Kakashi, both of them now woken up by the girl's speed. Kakashi looked over at his friend and nodded silently in agreement, before looking over at Anko.

"That wasn't one attack, it was six," Anko stated, alarming the Rookie Nine.

"Six?" Temari shouted, trying to recall the attack pattern. But there was none. "I'm pretty sure it was _one_ lunge!"

"No… it couldn't be," Naruto said, shaking his head, trying to wake himself up. He looked up at Temari, who was standing next to Hinata supporting his left side. "It was faint, but definitely, six attacks!"

"But that… can't be," Kankuro said, looking down at the blind girl incredulously. "There's no way that _**that**_ is human movement!"

"Not even Lee can move that fast," Neji stated with absolute certainty, looking over at his teammate equally surprised teammate. "I caught it… six attacks exactly with just one sword, and she looked like she just did one…"

"Now that is impressive speed," Gai said, taking a better look at the geisha girl as she turned around, her blade flashing through the air as she straightened up, still smiling. "I believe you kids have grossly underestimated this girl…"

Ryoko proctoring the exam, also noticed the suddenly speed displayed by the girl. She furrowed her brow where she stood, suspicious of this Kiri Genin. _"Strange… her movements are like Kariya's… but much more defined…"_

"This is unexpected," Shino said, taking a stance with both hands held out. On queue, his bugs began crawling out over his skin, in preparation for the battle ahead. "I can now sense your chakra level climbing…"

"Oh… so you're a bit of a sensory type," Miki exclaimed, still smiling as she slowly approached her opponent, her blade's cutting edge crimson with his blood. "So am I. I can sense everyone's chakra in this entire building, including each individual bug of yours crawling around inside of your body." She stopped, allowing her sense of feel to take in her environment.

Everybody noticed the change in her tone of voice. In just a matter of seconds, it switched from a Hinata complex to a completely new, almost Ryoko or Anko persona. The white haired girl chuckled and flicked her sword, getting rid of the blood and holding it up towards Shino threateningly.

"I may be blind, but my sense of feel, hearing, smell and taste are so sharp, I have compensated for the lack of one far greater then normal. I also have high sensitivity to chakra and ki, so all in all… I have a total of eight senses…"

"Eight?" Shino coughed.

"Don't think that I can't see you," Miki hissed, running her tongue along her upper lip. "Your sweat gives you away…"

Not wanting to let this fight drag on, Shino unleashed his bugs, his insects rushing out of his sleeves like clouds, and charging down the girl. Miki acted immediately, leaping to the left and running a semi-circle as the cloud chased her. Gaining enough distance, she spun around and slashed at the cloud with her sword as they surrounded her and swarmed. In swift flashes of light, the girl began cutting down the swarm of bugs, effectively maiming each individual one of them by slicing off their wings. Shino noticed what she was doing and called back his swarm, the cloud parting and revealing Miki standing in the middle without a scratch.

Shino then changed tactics, having the swarm make strafing runs on the girl. But whatever direction they tried, Miki met them, dancing around on the spot and lashing out at the bug clouds, which moved and parted to avoid fatal damage to their individual members. No matter what direction they tried, even on the ground, the bugs were halted by the girls defensive attacks.

The audience watching with intent was visibly disturbed by Shino's inability to touch her, not to mention his sudden withdrawal of his insects had everybody thinking that this girl was way above his league.

The supposedly blind Kiri Genin turned towards Shino and smirked, looking down at the insects whose wings she had cut off, the wounded ones crawling back to their master. She noticed one lagging behind, and without a show of remorse or emotion, stepped on it, grinding it under her sandal.

"Your group has underestimated me completely," she hissed, looking back up towards Shino as his insect swarm hovered around him, and the wounded that managed to get away crawling back into his body, disappearing from sight. "My guise led you into a state of insecurity, and now it will cost you…"

"_She's cold and calculative, just like her other teammate," _Shino thought, now looking incredibly nervous. _"None of my bugs can even get to her, no matter what maneuver they tried. Even on mass she was able to individually cut them down. What is she?"_

The girl raised her sword up, running her tongue along its blade.

Shino frowned and drew a cluster of shuriken from his pouch. In one swift motion, he threw them straight towards the girl. Miki smiled and dodged left and right, while walking towards the boy, her katana gleaming. Missing his opponent, Shino then dashed forward, deciding to change tactics against this girl.

He punched out at her, only for the girl to side step and move back, before slashing out at him, the boy was struck right through his mid-section, earning gasps from the crowd, everybody thinking the Genin had bought it. But the Aburame then surprised everybody when his entire body suddenly transformed into an entire swarm of insects, all of them having been packed together to form the copy.

Miki blinked in surprise when she felt the beetles swarm up her sword, up her hand, then her arm, then swarm over her. Staggered, she stepped back and felt the colony of beetles swarm over her, and cover her completely. The real Shino appeared some distance away, glaring at the white haired girl as she writhed underneath might of his swarm. Aiming to support the onslaught, he threw both hands forward and unleashed more of his aerial troops.

Clouds of beetles flew out of his sleeves and charged the girl down, whipping through the air like a plague of locusts. Seconds later, they further engulfed the girl as she collapsed to her knees, the beetles sapping at her chakra, rendering her incapable of defending herself.

"Way to go, Shino!" Kiba shouted.

"Good move!" Anko admitted, smirking. "Being able to create bug clones that sap your chakra the moment they touch you must be a real advantage…"

"That's one of the reasons why the Aburame Clan is one of the most formidable clans in the entire village," Kakashi stated, smiling. "There ability to communicate with insects, the smallest of creatures in the world, is a big advantage for them. It's something very few ninja are capable of outside of their group…"

"That must feel so weird," Ino commented, watching as the black mass of bugs was crawling all over the girl's body.

Watching from afar, Shino examined his bugs' work closely, as Miki collapsed under the sheer numbers of his insects. The amount of bugs he dispatched to take her down would suck her dry of chakra within minutes. However, he immediately detected a rather disturbing problem, and took a cautious stance. Though he could see his bugs engulfing the girl, he came to a rather startling conclusion…

His bugs weren't sucking up as much chakra as he could sense…

Unexpectedly, the swarm suddenly exploded outwards in movement and scattered, as Miki leapt back to her feet and slashed out at the swarms. Her swift flurry of attacks appeared as streaks of light cutting through the air around her, numbering to a defense of a hundred sword attacks, though her stance in everybody else' eyes betrayed to any kind of movement whatsoever.

Shocking the audience, the blind girl drove off Shino's Swarm, even though they had completely engulfed her. Twirling her sword around, she sheathed it, a gust of wind echoing off of her. She then instead locked her sword in her belt, and drew her parasol instead. Flinging it out to her side, the parasol's handle extended into that of a staff, and at its tip, a spear tip appeared. Flashing on its draw, the white haired girl spun her staff around her expertly, before thrusting the end into the ground, cracking the concrete with her tap, as she locked her attention back onto Shino.

While his bugs floated and crawled back to him, Miki smiled at him.

"That's not going to work on me," she said, shrugging her left shoulder and readjusting her kimono. Twirling her staff again, she took it up into a single-handed grip, and jabbed the spear in Shino's direction. "The good thing about being me… is that I don't need chakra to fight…"

Shino furrowed his brow and readied for another bout, the girl twirling her staff around her as she marched towards the boy, the sounds of her footsteps being heard above everything else. The Rookie Nine were now more anxious then ever for Shino, wondering what the boy as going to do next in response to his opponent's immunity to his insects.

The Kiri Ninja's Jonin leader smirked as he observed his student closely, watching her slowly approach her target. _"Miki Kageuchi is the most formidable Genin from Kirigakure. She may be of low rank, but her skills and strength excel to that of a Jonin in her __**own**__ league." _He looked down at Eclipse, then towards his other student, both of them watching the match intently. _"She has no weakness, and has the most complicated personality, making her incredibly dangerous."_

Miki smirked and dashed forward, the speed of her sprint causing her entire form to blur out of sync with time. Shino attempted to counter with a shield of insects to protect him, but the girl swiftly got by it and, with one slash of her spear aimed at his legs, tripping him up as she passed, throwing him face forward. Twirling her staff around, she then jabbed it underneath his stomach and threw him up into the air. The boy flew several stories up before beginning to fall. During which, Miki twirled her staff around expertly and, timing herself, struck out to her side, slamming the staff straight into Shino's chest and propelling him across he arena. He was effectively knocked out before he even hit the ground, his body boundlessly skipping across the concrete surface before rolling to a stop.

After a minute and Shino didn't get up, Ryoko called the end of the match, and those able bodied members of Shino's Team and the Rookie Nine hopped down to the arena to see if he was alright. Miki smiled when she heard his friends come to his aid, and retracted the staff of her parasol, the spear tip disappearing back inside the staff. Casually and care free once more, the girl opened up her parasol and held it above her head, humming to herself as she walked over to where Shino was.

Seeing the end of the round, the Kiri Jonin leader chuckled and folded his arms, nodding his head. _"She was expensive to hire, but well worth it… even though she __**is**__ Kariya's replacement…"_

As Kiba, Kakashi, Sakura and Shikamaru checked the boy over, rolling him onto his back and looking to make sure he was really alright, they were suddenly accompanied by his opponent, the four of them looking up at her in surprise when she stopped beside them. That surprise then wore off to suspicion, with a bit of loathing from Kiba to follow.

"What do you want?" he snapped questioningly.

The blind girl smiled down at him and nudged her way passed Sakura. Kneeling down beside Shino, she placed her hand against his forehead, prompting Kakashi to try and stop her from what she was doing, but hesitated when she looked up at him.

"Don't worry… I'm just healing him…" Her hand unexpectedly became engulfed in green chakra as she began running Shino over in a quick fix up, a technique that surprised both Kakashi and Sakura. Shikamaru looked up at the girl with interest and mistrust, but wasn't able to get as far as simple staring when Shino suddenly coughed back into consciousness and looked up at the person healing him.

It was quite a shock for a ninja to actually find out that it was their opponent helping to bring them back to reality. But Shino managed to keep his disbelief in check.

"T-Thanks…" Shino groaned up, watching her run her green hand up and down his chest and head. "But my bugs can handle the rest…"

Miki smiled at him in understanding and stood up, taking her parasol in both hands and twirling it above her. The flower patterned kimono she wore waved about in the light breeze, a rather warming feeling falling over her, which didn't go unnoticed by Sakura or Kiba.

"I'm sorry about squashing your friend; I… may have gotten a little bit carried away. But you fought well…" she whispered. "You're perhaps the first Genin ever to survive my opening attack. There isn't a person alive today who has managed to last more then three moves against me. I can respect that…" Miki blushed lightly and smiled down at the boy. "You're cute. I really like you…"

Kiba and Shikamaru stared oddly at her, while Sakura and Kakashi responded in a reasonably incredulous manner by her sudden personality change from the cold, ruthless fighter she was just a few seconds ago. The white haired blind girl then turned towards Sakura, her empty eyes twinkling.

"May I have a word with _you_… its important…?"

Catching this, Sakura stood up and stepped towards her. Miki leaned in, with Sakura also leaning in so to hear what the girl had to say. The Kiri Genin smiled as she passed on the message she had to the member of Team 7.

"Tell your boyfriend… I have something I need to say to him, in regards to the swordsman _Kisame Hoshigaki_…" Miki said, causing Sakura's eyes to widen in surprise and pull back a little. The blind girl smiled at her. "Your team can meet me back in the village at Ichiraku's Ramen."

Sakura watched in quiet surprise as the blind girl walked away and back up to her balcony, this time ascending the stairs perfectly with no difficulty in navigation at all.

Kiba, shaking his head, looked back down at the boy, who had a trickle of blood running from his nose. The Inuzuka raised an eyebrow at his teammate.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked.

"She…likes…me," Shino replied, a little dazedly.

Kiba groaned and looked up to where the white girl was now, being greeted by her teammates and congratulated by her sensei. "Why do girls always go for the weird guys…?"

* * *

_**Final Round…**_

Temari stood before her opponent, glaring hard at the hooded Kiri Genin, who just stood where he was, silently staring back at her, lifeless. The proctor, the Third and everybody else looking down at the boy were beginning to wonder if was even alive and was being manipulated somehow. However, after a quick go over by those with the Byakugan, they determined that the boy was indeed alive and kicking… well… not so much as kicking, but definitely alive. His stare, however, was throwing off a lot of the competition.

"Next to that Eclipse guy, this one has to be the creepiest of the group," Shikamaru said. Asuma nodded in agreement, and looked up towards the Kiri Team, where he saw Miki humming to herself happily with her parasol still up, Eclipse glaring off to the side and the Jonin sensei of the group calmly staring down at the arena floor.

"It's _**their**_ team leader that creeps me out the most," Asuma commented.

"Who is he anyway? Why doesn't he just take off that cloak he wears to fight?" Anko wondered.

"Who knows what anybody does these days?" Sakura inputted, looking over at Team 8. "I mean… why doesn't Shino take off his glasses? Why doesn't Kakashi ever take off his mask? We may never know…"

"Hey!" Kakashi looked over at Team 7, seeing the entire group and several other Genin staring in his direction curiously, including the Sand Siblings. "I can take off my mask whenever I want…"

"Then why don't you take it off now?" Anko asked, grinning mischievously.

Kakashi stared back, all of the Genin, including the other Jonin standing around the silver haired shinobi staring at him. Gai and everybody else paid particular interest to the man's face, as neither of them has ever seen Kakashi's real face, even during nights out at clubs whenever he was invited. Whether drinking or eating, nobody could ever catch him. Not to mention at the most important of ceremonies, the masked ninja never removed the cloth hiding the rest of his face.

Coughing into his hand, Kakashi turned away, looking back down at the arena. "Never mind it now… lets just watch the match…"

"Don't change the subject!" Anko snapped, marching over to her coworker, pushing past Sakura, who was holding up Naruto. The blonde groaned when his sensei nudged past, a sharp pain coursing through his body from his back, causing him to yelp. "Come on, Kakashi-baka! Show us what you're hiding! Is it buck teeth?"

"No…"

"Big lips?"

"No…Anko…"

"A mole?" Asuma asked curiously, peering over to get a better angle of his friend's face, seeing that the man was getting a tad bit flustered.

"Oh geez… no…"

"A beard!" Gai exclaimed.

The Genin around Kakashi actually came to agree on this guess, because if the Jonin did have facial hair, it wouldn't look good on him at all if it was ten inches long and hobo like. He would definitely have reason to hide his face then, but maybe not so much if it was just a bit of fuzz.

"For the last time, no!"

"The combatants of the final round of the preliminaries are Temari from the Village Hidden in the Sand and Takagura from the Village Hidden in the Mist!" Ryoko called out, looking between the two Genin, who were still glaring at one another, Temari with her fan in hand, and the hooded boy just staring through the shadows of his mask, his stitched eye twitching. Raising her hand, Ryoko readied herself, drawing the audience's attention back to the arena floor. "You may… begin!" She leapt away, giving them space.

Temari smirked and tapped her large fan against the ground, giving the boy her most intimidating grin. "Alright punk, ready to dance?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

The boy said nothing, which rather irked Temari by the fact that he didn't even do cross-talk in battle.

Clenching her face, the golden haired girl frowned. "Fine then! If you won't make the first move, then I will!" She sprinted forward, bringing her large fan around as she charged. The teams watched in anticipation as Temari leapt through the air and straight towards her opponent, taking her weapon in a two-handed grasp and holding it above her, readying to strike.

It was in that moment of Temari's initiation of her attack that Naruto suddenly caught a spike of chakra spark off of Takagura, alerting him to a second, dangerous presence. Gaara felt it at the same time and gasped in shock, with Shino and Neji also jumping at the sudden leap in the boy's energy level.

"That's…" Shino whispered.

"TEMARI! WATCH OUT!" Naruto shouted desperately, Sakura shifting a bit at the unexpected outburst.

Temari blinked, hesitating. That moment of pause in mid-flight brought her attention to cracks of splitting tiles moving out from the base of her opponent's feet. This was suddenly followed by a blast of debris, as jets of water suddenly shot out of the ground. Reacting quickly, the girl unfurled her face to the full three moons and hopped on. A gust of wind from her chakra propelled her upwards, avoiding the jets of water, and carried her away. The Suna kunoichi, as well as the audience, watched in surprise when water suddenly began filling every corner of the arena's surface, the boy just standing right in the middle of it as the water climbed about two feet, before stopping.

Temari hovered around for a bit, before hopping off of her fan and landing atop of the water's surface lightly, looking up at her opponent in surprise.

"Okay… you've got my attention…" Temari said, the boy continuing to stare at her.

"When did he summon water?" Choji asked. "I didn't see any hand seals?"

"I don't think he needed to," Sasuke said, glancing over at the rest of the Rookie Nine standing around him.

"He is a Kiri Nin, so it's understandable that his specialty should be water based techniques," Neji calculated, rubbing his chin in thought as his Byakugan analyzed the water's consistency and quantity. "It's about time a Genin from that village actually showed this ability. But it strikes me odd…"

"How come?" Lee asked, looking at his teammate.

"H-He didn't form any hand seals, but it is clearly indicated by his sudden rise in chakra that he brought the water into the arena somehow," Hinata said, filling in the blanks.

"He must have been at a disadvantage without it," Tenten said, nodding her head. "Now that he's filled up the arena, Temari has entered his turf…"

The golden haired girl glared at the boy as they both bobbed on the shallow water. After a minute more of staring, the girl grabbed her fan and flung it around, preparing for her next attack. She gritted her teeth as she glared at the boy.

"Alright Moby Dick! Let's see you handle this! Ninja Art!" She thrust her fan out and slashed it across in front of her, a huge gust of wind exploding out from her fan, and twisted and whipped its way towards its target. "WIND SCYTHE JUTSU!"

The blast of wind covered ground in seconds, and cut a huge trench through the water on its approach. However, Takagura did little more then just stand where he was when suddenly, a wall of water shot up between him and his opponent, the wind crashing headlong into the shield. It may have bent it and caused it to ripple violently, but the shield effectively absorbed the force of the attack, and reflected the rest of it in every direction. Temari blinked in shock, while everybody else watching was dumbfounded.

"No hand signs?" Kankuro spoke. "Just who exactly is this guy? That water just jumped up like Gaara's sand!"

"It's the _Water Encampment Wall Technique_," Kakashi said, folding his arms. "Apparently, in his element, he doesn't need to use hand seals… well… so far anyway…"

Temari gritted her teeth, clenching her fan tightly. "Oh yeah… try this one! YAH!" She attacked again with a powerful blast a wind, the tornado whipping out and charging her target down. However, it was stopped once again by a bigger wall of water that jumped in front of the boy, who glared at her through the barrier. This pissed the girl off a lot, since none of her attacks were able to get through. "DAMMIT! Come on!" She tried again and again, the blasts of wind from her attack forcing the crowds to cover their faces from the debris and water being splashed about.

Each blast marked a new wave and cut new grooves in the shallow water, which evened out seconds later. But again and again, every attack that blasted its way towards Takagura was repelled by his shield, which absorbed the force of her attack every time. However, what pissed her off more then her attacks being incapable of taking down the boy, it was his constant, silent stare. It was starting to unnerve her and the rest of the crowd.

"He's just standing there doing nothing!" Sakura said, Naruto nodding in agreement as he analyzed Temari's opponent. "I mean… it's like he doesn't even care…"

"That brat!" Kankuro growled through gritted teeth, gripping the gauze of his puppet strapped on his back. "I ought' a…"

"Don't interfere…" Baki spoke, looking down at his student, who glared up at him. "Let Temari figure a way around it…"

After countless tries which tired her out, Temari then opted for a different approach. If her blasts of wind couldn't get to her opponent, then maybe something physical will get him to respond. Taking her fan and clamping it, she took it into a two handed grip and dashed forward, deciding to take him on head to head. The audience watched as the girl leapt forward and swung her enormous fan at the boy, aiming for his head. With a loud yell, she struck home, the blow echoing out with a loud bang.

Everybody winced when her weapon connected, and leant in over the bars to see whether her attack had any effect. Temari grinned as she glared at her opponent, knowing that must have done some damage. However, her grin fell and her expression became one of shock. She did manage to hit the boy, even knocking his hood off, but was shocked to find that her attack was stopped by, not an arm or a weapon, but something on his face.

Looking at Takagura's face, plainly unveiled from his hood, the girl saw that his once pale skin of his left cheek had become plated and grey, like an armored shell had just appeared on the side of his face. It was cartilage, definitely, but it wasn't artificial… it was his own, and it just grew through his flesh to defend him from the blow. What's more, he wasn't even fazed by the attack.

"What in the…" The girl began, but was unable to finish. The kunoichi's body shuddered for a brief second when she was propelled off her feet by an unexpected, unknown force, blood spurting from her mouth as she was sent flying across the arena. Temari bounced across the shallow water three times before hitting the wall on the Rookie Nine's side, her collision marked by a loud thud and the cracking of the concrete wall. Crying out in agony she collapsed into the shallow water, a splash accompanying her landing.

"TEMARI!" Kankuro shouted, leaning over the side to look under. Gaara was also shocked, but not as much as the rest of the Genin.

"What was that?" Tenten asked.

"Good question…" Sakura responded.

Everyone looked towards Takagura, wondering if it was his water technique that sent Temari packing. However, when they looked in his direction, they were astounded to see that his right arm was extended into a fist, but not an ordinary one. Looking closely, the group saw that his arm had also become armor plated, with webbing between the fingers like an amphibian and spines growing out of the armored shell of his forearm. The Genin and Jonin managed to catch this sight before it, and the side of the boy's face, reverted back to normal human flesh and form before their very eyes. The arm in question was then withdrawn and hid back underneath the folds of his cloak.

Getting a better look at his face, Ryoko was astounded when she distinctly recognized the person who 'was' Takagura. Her expression showed both shock and terror.

"T-That's… _Yagura_… Mizukage-sama…" she whispered, unable to doubt her words. She was familiar with the young male's pale face, silver hair and the scar running down from under his eye, ultimately defining the jinchuriki's appearance.

However, she heard years ago that he had died. But here he was, standing right in front of her like a ghost.

However, Ryoko was unable to dwell on or confirm the person in mind when the boy lifted his hood back up and hid his face under shadows, before turning and leaving the arena. During which, the water filling the rectangular chamber receded, leaving Temari lying in a crumpled, unconscious heap underneath the walkway.

The swordswoman proctor, shaking off her astonishment, quickly called the end of the round and went over to see if Temari was still alive, knowing that any ninja who had fought Yagura in the past had a slim three percent chance of crawling away… alive. The rest of the Rookie Nine joined her, while 'Takagura' returned to his companions waiting for him on the other side.

Looking the unconscious girl over, Ryoko then glanced up as Sakura, Hinata, Kakashi, Baki, and the Sand Siblings joined her and knelt beside their fallen friend, with Naruto hanging onto Sakura's shoulders and looking down at his friend with worry and concern.

"She's alive… thankfully…" Ryoko informed.

Sakura held her hands over the unconscious Sand Sibling and began healing her with her Mystical Palm technique. After a quick rundown of the older teen's body and her condition, the kunoichi immediately gave her analysis to everybody standing around her.

"A few broken ribs, muscle damage, a dislocated right shoulder, and a broken left arm," Sakura said, gritting her teeth. "All from one blow…"

"That's insane strength," Kankuro said, glaring up towards the balcony where the Kiri Team stood, staring down at the group gathered around the fallen girl. "Those ninja are not normal…"

"Don't worry about them now, worry about your older sister," Naruto groaned, his head slumping back and forth on his neck as Sakura hobbled around Temari with him hanging off her and Hinata's shoulder. "If I could move, I'd do something about this."

"Well, unfortunately you can't at the moment, Naruto," Sakura sighed, standing up. The teams parted as the medical staff came rushing through. They laid Temari out on the stretcher and marched her out, leaving the remaining Sand Siblings and everybody else quarreling over her defeat and how that Kiri Nin she was fighting was able to do it.

"Just who the hell is he?" Kankuro asked, glaring up at the hooded boy, wanting nothing more right now then to rush up there and tear his arms off. "To be able to beat Temari with so little effort…she's tougher then me, and still got her ass handed to her…"

"Hey, nobody cross-dresses better then you, Kankuro," Naruto said, glancing up at the boy with a snide grin. "But that doesn't mean even your style of fighting will be able to beat that guy's techniques, even if you did have your way with him…"

"HEY!"

"Uzumaki-san is right," Gaara stated, glaring up at his older brother, who looked about ready to impale his fist through Naruto's skull. The blonde grinned cockily from where he hung from Sakura and Hinata, both of them giggling outright. "That Takagura is no ordinary shinobi…"

"No he isn't," Ryoko said, joining the small group in a circle. She looked into the faces of Team 7, the three members of the Sand Team present, Kakashi, Lee and Tenten, all of them now turning to the proctor, giving them her full attention. "That boy, Takagura, is not a Genin and sure as hell isn't a normal Kirigakure boy at all… he's the _fucking_ Mizukage of my former village!"

Kakashi, Baki and a lot of the Genin who knew of her village looked at her in shock.

"What?" Baki choked out.

"The Village Hidden in the Mist's' Kage?" Tenten mellowed over, eyes blinking.

"That boy _**is**_ Yagura, jinchuriki of the _Three-Tailed Giant Turtle_ and the former, undisputed leader of the _Village Hidden in the Mist_," Ryoko repeated, her expression reflecting a look of bewilderment of her own. "I'd recognize that scarred little fuck anywhere, even if he was bandaged up and bleeding on a hospital bed. I had to respond to him directly for a while after Kisame deserted the village, right up to his sudden disappearance. His abilities and looks are uncanny!"

"A jinchuriki?" Gaara whispered, looking down at his hands shakily. Trembling from head to toe, he then looked over at Naruto, the boy also looking astonished. "A…A demon… like me?"

"Like both of us," Naruto replied, before looking around at everybody else. "He's like me, holding one of the tailed beasts. I'm not afraid to admit this, because now there are _**three**_ of us standing in the same room!" The blonde gritted his teeth then looked over at Ryoko, not surprised by the fact that he was now able to move his head about now with little difficulty. "Are you sure it is Yagura? I mean, him being a tailed-beast carrier isn't surprising due to his abilities, but… the Mizukage in the flesh…?"

"I'm not sure if it is him, a doppelganger, a long lost twin or his f&8ing corpse brought back from the dead, it doesn't matter… but if he _**is**_ my village's jinchuriki, then you've got one tough round on your hands if one of you Genin have to fight him in the Third Stage of the Exams," Ryoko sighed, rubbing her forehead protector and looking around at those Genin who have passed into the next stage of the exams. "With the preliminaries over… and in light of these circumstances… I'm not sure if we should proceed or not…?"

"Keep the exams going," an old, raspy voice spoke up, catching the group's attention. Everybody turned around to see the Third Hokage walking towards them, pipe wedged between his lips and blowing out puffs of smoke. The proctor stepped back and bowed, as did the Jonin as Konohagakure's distinguished leader walked up to the group and looked at them. Taking the pipe from his lips, the old man blew out whatever smoke he had in his lungs and nodded his head. "I see no direct threat to the well-being of the Leaf Village or its people at this point in time, so the continuation of the exams from here on out will bear no ill fruit…"

"But old man," Ryoko spoke up, looking up at the Hokage. "If _that_ brat is the Mizukage from my village, isn't it against the rules for him to participate?"

"Any ninja registered to take part in the exams may compete for the title of _Chunin_ at their own risk and consent. It is by law and sacred tradition that the shinobi villages continue with the exams when within acceptable boundaries or otherwise risk unsettling the peace established between friendly nations, particularly in the case of denying a certain candidate's participation under unsupported grounds of accusations and assumptions. Furthermore, there is no evidence to support that he is _**the**_ Yagura you claim he is Ryoko, as his identity is registered as the name he signed up as. Not to mention there is substantial evidence from your former village to support the fact that he is indeed a Genin from Kirigakure. The current Mizukage herself confirmed this," Hiruzen said, looking from Ryoko and to the Jonin and Genin present. "If any of you do not wish to continue with the exams may step forward now… if not… we may proceed with the line-up…"

When no Genin stepped forward and no Jonin chose to protest, the Third Hokage nodded his head in understanding and looked at Ryoko, who was looking at Sarutobi with concern. Noticing her displeasure, he leant in and whispered into her ear.

"If you feel uncomfortable with that boy's presence, then I will have an ANBU team keep a close eye on him," he whispered. This earned an affirmative nod from the red-head, to which she then pulled back and turned to the teams present.

"All those who have won their bouts in the preliminaries may stay. Those Genin who have _not_ passed may take their leave. But you don't have to leave if you wish to see the line-up. You may wait patiently on the sidelines while we make the ballet…"

The Hokage, accompanied by the Jonin and the proctor proceeded to the statue, and balanced themselves on whatever stable ground there was around it. It took several minutes, but eventually the Genin who made it through lined themselves up in front of the staff in charge of this part of the exam, and amidst the torn up state of the arena and under the eyes of friends and comrades, stood proudly before the Hokage. Of course, some of the Genin couldn't. Naruto was still being held up by Sakura and Hinata, with their sensei considering to get a broom a prop the by up like a scarecrow. However, his two teammates didn't mind, and the three of them stood together, smiling all the while.

Anko smirked, seeing as that all three of her teammates made it through, before looking over the rest of the competition.

"_Hmm… 10 brats made it through: all three from my team, two from the sand team, two from the Kiri team, one from Gai's team, one from Asuma's team and one from Kakashi's team… not too shabby. Looks like all the best made it through," _Anko thought, slipping her hands into her pockets. _"Those who work hard and have suffered throughout their lives have proven their worth here today, and shall continue to prove themselves far into the foreseeable future…"_

"Had fun, Ryoko-chan?" Anko smirked over at her friend, the red head shrugging her shoulders and half-smirking back.

"Loads… although honestly, I was expecting more bloodshed," Ryoko replied.

"Maybe later tonight," Anko licked her lips at her, the woman grinning back. The proctor turned back to the group of Genin, and went on with proceedings.

"You have all fought well today. Those of you who have made it through have demonstrated your strength, ingenuity, and have also shown great resolve on the arena in front of your teammates and fellow shinobi… somewhat." She emphasized the 'somewhat' by glancing in Ino's direction, which the girl responded to by sticking her tongue out and rubbing the back of her head, sheepishly. "It looks like you all desperately want to become Chunin then, eh? Let's see how far you're all willing to go from here on out," Ryoko chuckled, looking at the faces of the ten successors, before pulling a cardboard box out from behind her. "Well, from this point onwards, things will only be getting harder for you lot. Your fates will be decided by a ballot draw! This draw will determine your placement in the Third Exam to be held in Konohagakure's Public Exam Arena, where distinguished village leaders, Lords, wealthy businessmen and shinobi from across the five great nations will gather and watch your matches."

"Huh? Distinguished diplomats?" Ino queried, blinking. "Are we like… being judged publically by these people?"

"It is to raise awareness of other villages' shinobi and how strong their ninja are individually," Ryoko stated, looking from one face to another as she spoke. "You see, sometimes the quality of an individual shinobi can make a huge difference in battle. Whether it is a powerful soldier or a patient general, the excellence of a ninja in the field is determined by the skills they are able to contribute to the mission, breaching the line between success and failure. Hence, you will prove your strengths further by fighting the best of the best: those of you who have passed!" She glared at the ten faces, earning glares back from Gaara, Ino and Kankuro, smirks from Sakura, Hinata and Naruto, and a cheerful humming from Miki, who was still twirling her parasol behind her.

"These will be public matches held in front of hundreds of spectators, where you _**will**_ be really fighting for your villages' sakes, and for your own honor!" Ryoko continued, walking forward and holding the ballot boxes out to the first person in line. She moved down, each person reaching in and drawing a number.

Ryoko couldn't help herself but stop at Naruto and watch him struggle to grab his number with his face. The swordswoman grinned at his failed attempts to stick his head through the hole in the box, with Sakura, Ino, Kankuro and even Gaara snickering on the sidelines at the boy's cursing.

"Come on, Naruto-kun! You can do better then that!" Ryoko laughed.

"I'm getting there!" the blonde snapped back. He then attempted a different approach.

Sacrificing movement coming back to his left leg, he moved it to his right arm, and he was successfully able to hunch it over and pick a piece of paper out of the box. Shaking her head, Ryoko moved on. Once everybody had made the draw, she stepped back and, setting the ballot box down, pulled out her notepad and pen, and looked up at the participants as they looked down at their numbers.

"Announce your numbers!" Ryoko shouted, "Starting from you, happy!"

She was clearly referring to the ever cheerful Miki.

"I'm number uhh…" She weighed the piece of paper in her hand carefully. "Uhh…umm…! Ten! Ten! I'm ten!"

"Number two!" Ino said, holding up hers.

"Six!" Gaara grunted.

"N-Number nine," Hinata piped.

"Hold on!" Naruto groaned, still trying to unfold his piece of paper with one hand. Eventually using his teeth to aid him, the blonde managed to unfurl it and held it up. "Seven!"

"I'm number five!" Sakura said, waving hers.

"Why is there a drawing of a penis on mine?" Kiba asked, holding up his piece of paper questionably. This earned a snort from Kankuro, a smirk from Gaara, and laughs from Naruto, Sakura and Ino. Anko also burst out laughing, while Asuma pretended to cough on his cigarette to cover up his laughter. Those Jonin standing around Ryoko without a sense of humor, including the Hokage, glared at the red head, the woman grinning back sheepishly, before walking over to the distraught boy.

"Sorry, that was a gag one. I was wondering if any of you was going to be the lucky one to pick it up," Ryoko said, allowing Kiba to make a second pick. He reached in and, after fumbling about for the last slip of paper, withdrew his arm and looked down at it.

Smiling, he held it up proudly. "Three!" Akamaru barked in excitement, tail wagging.

"Number one! YOSH!" Lee exclaimed, thrusting his up with a fist punch in the air and a twinkle in his eye.

"I'm four," Kankuro announced, holding his up before tossing it away. "Geez… second round…"

Takagura looked down at his questionably, before looking up at the woman. "I'm number eight…" he spoke in a husky, very attractive voice. The young teen speaking actually had everyone in the line jump and turn to stare at him in shock. Even the Jonin looked at him in surprise.

"Wow… and I thought the cat got your tongue," Ryoko said, stepping back into the formation of Jonin. _"That's not Mizukage-sama's voice at all… maybe I'm just tripping…"_

"Alright then, now that that is settled, here is the tally up…"

_**Round 1: Rock Lee vs. Ino Yamanaka**_

_**Round 2: Kiba Inuzuka vs. Subaku no Kankuro**_

_**Round 3: Sakura Haruno vs. Subaku no Gaara**_

_**Round 4: Naruto Uzumaki vs. Takagura**_

_**Round 5: Hinata Hyuuga vs. Miki**_

"Heh! A very interesting tally!" Ryoko said, stepping away from the whiteboard before turning to the Genin standing behind her and grinning wildly. "This ought to be fun…" She wagged her eyebrows in emphasis to her excitement.

"Alright you brats! You can get lost now!" Anko said, stepping out of the crowd of Jonin, smirking. "You've got one month in preparation for the third and final stage of the Chunin exams… so use your time wisely! While you train or do whatever you have to do to get ready to fight your opponents in the ring, the officials and staff will be getting ready for the day as well, prepping and cleaning up the arena, and gathering the guests during the countdown. This is going to be a big one boys and girls, so don't hold your breath."

"Tournament style, huh?" Kankuro exclaimed, shrugging his shoulders. "Heh… this might turn out to be fun after all…" _"Although… if I win… I'll be fighting against the green brat!"_ He glanced nervously over at Rock Lee, who literally had flames dancing in his eyes and a wide grin in play as he stared at the white board. "Damn…"

"I'm done for!" Ino cried out, staring in grief up at her name. "I'm in the first round! To top it off, I'm fighting against Lee!"

"YOSH!" Lee shouted, bounding his way over to Ino and standing in front of her, giving her the thumbs up and the characteristic Gai grin. "This will be a _most_ youthful confrontation between friends! Train hard Ino-chan! I want to see your flames of youth burning brilliantly as we clash fists!"

"Y-Yeah…" Ino replied, smiling nervously. "Ditto… Lee…" _"Heh-Heh-Heh… I'm going to die…"_

"So we're against the puppets!" Kiba surmised excitedly, clenching his fist and shaking it. "Perfect! I get to fight the cross-dresser and balance out the scores!"

"It's a traditional bunraku suit you cheeky fuck!" Kankuro shouted, grabbing his black hood and pulling it off, while stomping up to the boy, pushing past Lee and Ino. "SEE!"

"I'm fighting Gaara, eh?" Sakura glanced over at the red head. The sand user was looking back at her with equal interest, scoping out his opponent by appearance and memory of her battle beforehand. The pink kunoichi smirked. "Fine by me…"

"We'll see who's the better, Haruno-san," Gaara chided, obviously satisfied with the match up.

"Well, don't underestimate my teammates, Gaara!" Naruto exclaimed, holding up a fist in declaration while ignoring the lack of feeling throughout the rest of his body. "We'll be training hard to face you in this part! You can count on it!"

"Counting on it," the sand Genin replied, a small smile crossing his lips. "I'll be looking forward to our battles…"

"Who am I fighting?" Miki chirped up, walking over to the board and touching it gently. "I can't… really tell…"

"Y-You'll be fighting me!" Hinata called out, alerting the Kiri girl. The blind kunoichi walked over to the purple haired Genin and leaned in, surprising Hinata and her two teammates when her face came within an inch of the Hyuuga's. Sniffing, Miki tilted her head and smiled, pulling back.

"You seem strong… this will be exciting!" Miki declared in her happy, care free manner, before glancing over at Naruto hanging off of both of his teammates. "And… are you fighting… Takagura-kun?"

"Yeah, and I'm absolutely terrified," Naruto replied jokingly, glancing round to where the hooded boy was. He wasn't surprised when he saw the ominous boy in question glaring back at him with great intensity, earning a grin from the whisker-marked Genin in return. "I really want to fight that guy!"

"Well… good luck, Naruto-kun," Miki said, twirling her parasol around and closing it. "I know you will do well!"

As soon as Miki walked away, Naruto looked between his two teammates, both of them just as anxious and excited about the coming final part of the exams as he was.

"So… who's up for some ramen?"

"You're kidding right?" Sakura asked, looking with an incredulous smile at her blonde teammate. "You can't move and your body is all limp, and all you can think about is food?"

"Just prop me up on the stool and feed a straw to my mouth and I will be fine," Naruto instructed. "But one of you will have to feed me the solids."

"I…I can feed you, Naruto-kun!" Hinata exclaimed.

"Like hell you will!" Ino said, pushing past and up to the three of them. She leaned into Naruto, coming so close their noses literally touched. "You guys have had your fun with him! Now it's my turn!" She giggled happily.

While Ino nuzzled Naruto, Sakura leaned in to him and whispered into his ear.

"I forgot to tell you, that girl Miki wants to meet up with you at Ichiraku's. I figured you would want to get your strength back before you do…" Sakura whispered. Naruto, frowning, nodded his head.

"I think tomorrow would be best. I guess I can hold up on ramen for a day…"

After a bit of groveling between the Genin, as well as some friendly socializing between teammates and alike, the groups were eventually dismissed by the proctors, and were lead out by their senseis. Reuniting with the rest of their friends, the teams hiked their way back to Konohagakure, leaving behind the memories of their battles here.

The cracked walls and floor, and the dried up blood stains all over the place, marking the end of a chapter in their journeys forward…

* * *

_**However, later that night…**_ the tower was infiltrated by an ominous presence, who focused all his attention on the arena where the battles had taken place earlier that day. Walking around, Orochimaru, still disguised as a Konoha Jonin, chipped the dry blood from the floors and walls, getting everything he could and placing them in separate chemical vials. He taste tested each sample, identifying every subject by their blood type.

It was when he came to one of the last samples of the night, he paid particular interest towards it when he recognized it to be Sasuke's. Licking the chips of blood from his tweezers, Orochimaru chuckled and pocketed the sample he collected.

"Kabuto may have failed me… but the exams have provided me with such juicy information," the Snake Sannin exclaimed. Glancing around, he was soon accompanied by his two lackeys Yoroi and Misumi, both of them appearing from the shadows, fully healed and unmasked. The two of them formed up behind thier leader, with the Sannin turning to them with a wide grin on his face. "I understand you were able to acquire some more useful Intel for me?"

"Yes Lord Orochimaru," Misumi said, holding up vials of blood from his pocket. "These are what Kabuto was able to pilfer from the hospital on his last trip; old blood samples taken from the Nine Rookie Genin and the others during their physicals. Guess he left us with a parting gift before he decided to go R.I.P, eh?"

"Hmhmm… oh yes," the Sannin hissed, walking up to the two and collecting the vials. Looking at them closely, the snake then put them away in a special leather case, before glancing over at Yoroi. "With Kabuto gone, that means you can replace him?"

The black eyed man smirked and bowed to the disguised Sannin. "It will be an honor, Lord Orochimaru…"

"Very good," Orochimaru replied, a snide smile crossing his lips. "In light of certain circumstances, we may be in need of some more _**muscle**_ if we are going to be taking down Konohagakure in the coming month." He looked between his two lackeys, both of them listening eagerly to their master. "Summon the Sound Four and gather the attack forces Misumi!" He then focused attention on Yoroi as Misumi bowed to the Sannin and disappeared in a shunshin to complete his task. "Yoroi, your first mission as my new right-hand-man; I want you to go to the Land of Rice, and find Guren for me. Tell her… I am moving her up the ladder. Then, go to the Land of Grass, and hire the mercenary Kisarabi. I require her services once again…"

Orochimaru chuckled. After watching Yoroi bow to him and take off quickly to complete his task, the Snake Sannin turned towards the broke statue at the end of the Arena, marveling at how it was still able to stand after over a hundred years of punishment in this tower.

"_Out of all the rogue shinobi and scum I have hired, I can always count on Guren and Kisarabi to complete a difficult mission for me…"_

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

_**

* * *

**_

_**Author's Note: **__Harem stats update (I may have forgotten some girls)_

Girls include: _Sakura, Hinata, Ino (now I'm definitely sure), Kin, Tayuya, Temari, Tenten, Isaribi and Anko (I'll... figure something out down the line). Then there is Mia, Ryoko, Princess Kasumi, Karui, Samui and more..._

**_Furthermore..._**

A lot of people are still curious as to where everybody is in terms of strength and skill, especially Naruto, since he's been fighting people many times his strength and beating them. I'll just clarify them here.

I'll be listing people in the story so far using the Ranking Classification. Although it is a bit arbitrary, it will give people a better idea of where everybody stands so far, and defined between low and extremely high. The list includes all those who participated in the exams (not including Jonin, Sannin or other Ninja, as they are in a different league).

_Key (lowest-to-highest): D-Rank_, _C-Rank, B-Rank, A-Rank, S-Rank, SS-Rank (a.k.a Double S-Rank), SSS-Rank (a.k.a Triple S-Rank/Super S-Rank)_

_**D-Rank:**_

_Choji Akimichi - High_

_Ino Yamanaka – High_

_Shikamaru Nara - High_

_**C-Rank:**_

_Kiba Inuzuka – Low_

_Sasuke Uchiha – Low_

_**B-Rank:**_

_Naruto Uzumaki – Extremely High_

_Hinata Hyuuga – High_

_Sakura Haruno – High_

_Shino Aburame – Low_

_Neji Hyuuga – High_

_Rock Lee – Extremely High_

_Tenten - Middle_

_Subaku no Kankuro – Middle_

_Subaku no Temari – Middle_

_Yoroi – Middle_

_Misumi - Middle_

_**A-Rank:**_

_Subaku no Gaara – Low_

_Eclipse – Low_

_Kabuto - High_

_**S-Rank:**_

_Miki (a.k.a new Hurricane of the Hidden Mist swordswoman) - High_

_Takagura (a.k.a Yagura) – High_


	36. The Coming Storm

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_The Coming Storm_

_**Back In Konohagakure…**_

_**Naruto's Home…**_

It was relatively peaceful on the far side of Konohagakure, the estate beside the Hokage Monument standing quietly and under the setting sun. Mia was out in the fresh patch of grass playing ball with Little Haru, both of them kicking it and throwing it to one another playfully. At the same time, Haku was also on leave, watering the plants, dressed in light brown robes and a green apron. It was nice out, and everything was quiet.

That was until the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps caught the three's attention. Turning towards the front entrance, they saw dust cloud in the distance and a figure approaching at shockingly high speed. The thunder of his footsteps and his heroic battle cry soon followed as the person barreled in through the gates and skidded to a halt along the footpath leading up to main building, stopping right beside Mia, Little Haru and Haku. The tall, spandex wearing adult threw his left hand up in the peace sign and let out his symbolic victory yell.

"GOAL! FIRST PLACE!"

The three bystanders blinked in surprise, with Haku noticing the person hanging from Gai's back in a boneless and lop-sided way. Apparently Gai's piggy-backed passenger, who was unconscious at this point, had not appreciated or expected being lifted up so enthusiastically by the head Jonin of Team Gai and legged all the way back to his mansion several kilometers away while in a state of total body fatigue. Poor Naruto was seeing more then just stars at this point as he dangled backwards from Gai's back.

Several seconds later, another roar was heard approaching the gateway, the three bystanders looking around to see two figures heading their way this time. A familiar pink haired kunoichi and green, bushy browed Genin came rushing up to the gate. Both of them were carrying somebody on their back, surprisingly enough, seeing as that they were also enthusiastically running this race. At the exact same time, they skidded past the gates and stopped on either side of Gai, both of them, in unison, throwing their arms up in victory.

"_**AND SECOND PLACE!" **_Sakura and Lee shouted with huge grins on their faces.

At their own discretion, both Sakura and Lee picked up somebody as well in their race to try and beat Gai back to Naruto's mansion. They even went to the extreme of hurdling from building to building as they cut across the village to try and beat the Jonin, but failed, resulting in their passengers having their heads knocked about like pin balls. Sakura, on a whim, piggybacked Hinata, whereas Lee had picked up Neji and piggybacked him all the way to Naruto's mansion sprinting, which was understandable.

Both Hinata and Neji were out of it, just as much as Naruto, with drool leaking out of their mouths, accompanying swirly eyes.

"Oooh… travel sickness…Sakura-chan…" Hinata whimpered.

"My balls…" Neji groaned, his legs uncomfortably wedged around Lee's waist, meaning his butt was right on top of his pouch, resulting in him getting a rather nauseating and agonizing bumpy ride all the way here.

"Uhh… why are you racing?" Haku asked, before taking note of the three unconscious Genin hanging from their backs. "And why are they like that?"

"The flames of youth are overwhelming, my friend!" Gai exclaimed, propping Naruto back onto his shoulders properly, the same with Sakura and Lee and their passengers. "Apparently, Naruto-kun, Hinata-chan and Neji-san have all been overpowered by the sheer magnitude of our youths, and have succumbed to the tragedy of accelerated old age!" The over-the-top teacher then raised his hand, turned to Lee and Sakura, and pointed at them. "HENCE, once you are all well rested and recovered, a most vigorous training session is in store for both our teams! We shall meet at Training Field 6; tomorrow; four in the morning: to strengthen your inner flames!"

"YES GAI SENSEI!" Lee exclaimed, saluting.

"Whoosha!" Sakura shouted.

"_These three are going to be the death of us…" _Naruto, Hinata and Neji thought at the same time.

Little Haru walked up to Naruto's lifeless body and began prodding him with a stick, the same as Mia did for all three of them, hopping from one unconscious Genin to the next and poking them in the shoulders. It was then the Rinnegan little girl smiled happily, and hugged her big brother Naruto-kun.

"Welcome home!"

* * *

Shortly after the racers arrived, Anko, Tenten and Kin showed up, looking a little bit flustered at being left behind. Albeit a small spat between Anko and Gai, who took her threats and curses in stride, new introductions were made between Naruto's household guests on the front lawn, and the members of Team Gai. Once that was done, everybody standing out in Naruto's front yard packed it in and went inside his estate. Thankfully, this time everything was clean and quiet, the party animal Zabuza having been called in by the Hokage for a briefing. This meant that Team 7, their friends, and Team Gai had the whole place to themselves.

It was at Naruto's admission that the other team was allowed to stay for the night, and gave them free reign on the hot springs outside. Since it was right after the Chunin Exams, they were all buggered and needed the soak, while he went to bed.

"Ahhhhh…" Simultaneous sighs were heard as Sakura, Tenten, Hinata and Anko as they bathed on their side of the hot springs, with the boys divided clearly from view by a tall, bamboo wall. It was a great, hot bath, and clearly, everyone involved was enjoying it.

"I can't believe this is actually Naruto's place," Tenten said incredulously, looking around at the feng shui garden surrounding their bath, along with the buildings visible making up the estate, and the night sky hanging high above. The candle lights and the fireflies hovering in the steam of the springs made the sights all the more peaceful. "He isn't a part of a clan or anything. How did he get this place?"

"His parents left it for him," Sakura said, smiling at the brown haired girl. "If you want to learn more about his family, you can go ask him. But I can say this… his parents had _**big**_ plans!"

"I can see that!" Tenten replied, looking about in awe. "It's so nice up here, it's almost perfect…"

"Almost?" Anko queried, looking at the girl with a cup of sake in hand.

"Okay, it _is_ perfect!" Tenten hurriedly replied, looking about the hot springs a bit more. "I wish I lived in a place like this."

"If you want to marry Naruto, then you don't have to hesitate, just go for it!" Anko said, taking a sip. This made Tenten sputter and Sakura and Hinata giggle at the girl's reaction.

"Marry Naruto?"

"Why are you so bunched up about? You think I'm joking?" Anko asked, gesturing towards the girl suggestively. "It is a custom in a lot of clans across the countries that a single male head can take as many mistresses as he pleases, especially in the case when that male is the only member of his clan still alive. Naruto was a part of a huge clan once, but most of them have been wiped out. There are others out there from the same clan, but so far he is the only one still alive…"

"Oh… really…" Tenten looked away, a bit crest-fallen at the news. "I… feel so sorry for him."

"Don't be, he's put up with a lot in his life, and it hasn't slowed him down one bit!" Anko continued, pouring another glass. "Take my advice, if you really care about the kid; don't hesitate to make a move on him. A good banging every once in a while is healthy, for girls and boys!" This comment had all the girls in the vicinity blush to the roots of their hair. Anko, unfazed, grinned and held up her glass of sake, "To orgies!" She then downed it in one go.

"Anko-sensei… sometimes… you are too much," Hinata whispered, fidgeting nervously. The purple haired Jonin grinned at the girl and slid up alongside her and Sakura, with the pink kunoichi shuffling away a bit in response, anticipating what was to come from her rambunctious teacher.

"Aww… am I making you feel uncomfortable, Hinata-chan?" Anko flirted, getting rather intimate with the Hyuuga. Hinata blushed brilliantly and looked away, with the Snake Mistress leaning in, grinning from ear to ear. "You know, guys like Naruto do enjoy a good Yuri scene…"

"SENSEI!" Sakura shouted, flushed to her hair, but Anko waved it off.

"Come on, Hinata-chan! Lighten up! It's natural…" Anko continued. She began emphasizing her point by gesturing up towards the fireflies hovering around them. "See those fireflies… well… they're not exactly flies, technically they are beetles. Anyway, fireflies are a species of beetle that use a unique system of chemical signals to attract a mate at night. While the males fly around, flashing their abdomens as brightly as they can to attract the attention of a female, the female remains on the ground, waiting patiently fr the right guy to come along. After spotting a suitable mate, she flashes back a timed response that only _**that**_ particular male can recognize."

"What… are you… getting at… sensei?" Hinata asked, a little bit more nervous as Anko wrapped her arm around her.

"Well… in other instances, males aren't just signaling to attract a female. In many other cases, male fireflies, instead of trying to find a female mate, actually land and assume the role of the female themselves, and flash their abdomens in an effort to attract _another_ male…"

This had all the girls in the bath staring at her incredulously. While across the way, Gai, Lee and Neji, who were in the same bath, had overheard this conversation and were looking awkwardly around at each other. It was then the brown haired Hyuuga, making sure his washcloth was securely fastened around his waist, stood up.

"I think… I'm going to leave now…" He left the bath as quickly and as calmly as he could.

"Another male, sensei?" Hinata asked.

"Yup!" Anko grinned. "The same goes for girls…"

Sakura and Tenten looked at each other, but then looked away when thoughts on the topic at hand resurfaced, and they just couldn't look each other in the eyes. They both blushed in embarrassment and scratched their heads. At that exact moment, Ryoko came into the bath areas wearing nothing at all, and carrying a bottle of sake. When The Genin saw her, they shrieked in surprise and looked away.

"RYOKO! PUT SOMETHING ON!" Sakura shouted.

"I agree!" Tenten yelled, clamping her hands over her eyes, but opening up a crack so she could get a better look at the woman's figure. _"Wow, her bust is almost as big as Anko's…"_

"Oh, don't be such babies," Ryoko muttered, stepping into the hot water. "Look at Hinata-chan, she's calm."

In reality, Hinata had passed out while pressed up against Anko, with her head falling onto the woman's chest unintentionally. What it looked like was the Hyuuga was nuzzling the older woman affectionately, which kind of swung in both directions. Letting her student lie back in the springs with a red face and a stupid smile in play, Anko stood up and approached the red head, also butt naked. Neither of the older women brought a towel with them and it shocked Sakura, Tenten and Hinata to no end, because the three of them had shame. Anko and Ryoko didn't.

"Sweet! More sake! Gimme!" Anko exclaimed, making a grab for the bottle, only to have the red head slap her hand away. "Ow!"

"Not on your life, Anko-baka! You'll have to earn it!" Ryoko replied, grinning lecherously at the woman. Anko, considering her grin, smirked as well and, walking right up to her, pressed up against the smoking hot swordswoman. Sakura and Tenten literally had nosebleeds the moment they saw the two women press their perfectly symmetrical chests against one another, and began running their hands over the other's flawless body in a lustful embrace.

"Well then, how's this for earning it?" It only made matters worse for both Sakura and Tenten when Ryoko and Anko started passionately making out. The two girls looked away, and then decided to help Hinata who had sunk down to the bottom of the springs. Fishing her out, the three Genin left the hot springs, leaving Anko and Ryoko to themselves to… do whatever they wanted.

_**Meanwhile…**_

Naruto was being well looked after up in his room as he lay out in his now partial body shock. Finally able to move both his arms and hands, except his legs, the blonde was able to perform about… half the tasks he was normally able to complete. It was a relief too, because that meant he wouldn't have to rely on somebody to feed him, which he didn't really want; although his 'nurses' insisted on feeding him, despite his reasoning.

Isaribi and Mia entertained the blonde throughout a majority of the afternoon after he was checked on by Sakura to see if he was going to be okay before she left for the hot springs. They also looked after him, making sure he was comfortable and didn't suddenly die out on them. He was incredibly grateful, and accepted their care with very few complaints. His little sister Haru had accompanied him with till around nine, where she was soon put to bed.

With Little Haru asleep in the room next to Naruto's, and the rest of the guests down in the baths, this left him with the rest of his company.

While Isaribi lay against Naruto on his large bed, smiling happily as they were both propped up against his large pillows and under his blankets, they watched as Mia performed magic tricks for them. The good thing about her tricks was that she was actually _**good**_ at them. It wasn't like she was the Joker where a flower popped out of her finger and sprayed them with poison gas; she was more like the Mind Freak guy they saw on TV once or twice, but better.

Mia did tricks in just a T-shirt and panties, giving the pair a rather promising view of her cleavage and curves. However, this was all she needed to wear when she was able to produce flowers and alike out of nowhere, and perform her freaky card tricks. She grew flowers out of the carpets, slapped the rings of kunai together without breaking them, and swallowed swords, although this was a bit of a cliché with Orochimaru's strange digestive system.

Other tricks had her literally make pigeons and crows appear out of her bare hands, as well as produce a top hat out of thin air, and pull out all sorts of random stuff. She even managed to pull out the pair of underwear Naruto was actually wearing, and although it was excellent in foreplay, really didn't make the blonde too comfortable when Isaribi tried to sneak a peek under the blankets.

"Oh, that's nice," Naruto chuckled; watching as Mia pulled out an Icha Icha Book from the inside of the top hat she was holding, easily recognizing who it actually belonged to. "I bet that guy's pissed…"

"Oh… hang on…" Mia set the hat down on the one-legged table in front of her. She stretched her arms and fingers, and cracked her neck from side to side, before reaching into the hat and fumbling around a bit. A few seconds later, she pulled out a familiar silver haired Jonin about half-way.

Kakashi blinked in shock and looked around wildly, still dressed in his Jonin gear..

"Oi! What happened? Where am I?" he sputtered. He then suddenly noticed Naruto and Isaribi lying in the bed in front of him. "Oh! Hi Naruto!"

"Sorry Kakashi-san," Mia exclaimed happily, pushing him back into the hat. When she did, the three of them heard the man's cry fade as he fell about four stories, before a loud thud was heard. The red head then tossed his book in, hearing him yelp a few seconds later when it landed on his face. Mia then picked up the hat and showed them the inside of it, the pair leaning in to get a closer look.

At the bottom of the hat, they saw Kakashi lying sprawled out on the streets of Konoha right outside of Ichiraku's Ramen Stand, dazed and confused. Both Naruto and Isaribi were clearly amused at the sight.

"That must have hurt," Isaribi commented. Naruto waved a hand.

"Nah, he'll be fine. He always gets back on his feet… eventually…"

Pulling the hat back in, Mia attempted another trick. In the meantime, Naruto pulled Isaribi closer into his embrace as they both continued to enjoy the show in their pajamas.

"It may not be a fancy restaurant or bar… but I'm really enjoying this, Naruto-kun," Isaribi said with a sigh, rubbing her cheek against Naruto's shoulder.

"Yeah… this is really nice," the blonde replied. He leaned into her, nuzzling her hair. "We should really do this more often…" Isaribi giggled, watching as Mia pulled out a pig, Tonton oinking as he looked around in surprise.

"Where's your new friend, Kin-chan?" Isaribi asked curiously.

"Oh… Ryoko took her down to the Hokage's office. She had information of great importance that concerned the village and its people, and I couldn't really tag along because… well…" He gestured down at himself. "Can't really move…"

"Will she be okay?"

"She'll be fine. I gave her my word, and she gave me hers. As long as she behaves, she won't be harmed," Naruto stated, looking down at Isaribi. "You have no idea how much documentation I'll have to be filling out this time. I did exactly the same for all of you guys, Ryoko, Little Haru, Zabuza, Haku… I'm not really sure if Mia really counts though, being the God of All Shinobi and stuff. I still think she's just a figment of my imagination," the blonde pondered, looking over at the red head as she shoved Tonton back into the hat and pulled out Akamaru, the cries of a distressed Kiba looking for his friend echoing out of the hat. "Then again, she could be just a ghost…"

"Well… thanks for going through all the trouble. It… means a lot to me… everything you have done for me, and everybody else. I love all of your friends, Sakura, Hinata, Little Haru, Haku-kun," Isaribi sighed, shuffling over a bit more. "I don't care if I have to share you with a hundred women or a thousand friends… I will always be there for you if you need me…"

Naruto looked down at her, blinking in surprise. Isaribi smiled sweetly up at him, a streak of red across her cheeks. For a moment they stared and smiled at each other, before Isaribi leaned up and kissed him tenderly. The blonde responded and deepened it. The purple haired girl wanted it to last as long as possible, of course, with her spectacular breathing, made it last for a full five minutes. When they needed air, they broke apart and smiled at one another one last time, before returning their eyes to the show. When they did, they found Mia holding Temari's fan, waving it around her.

The sight of the familiar weapon had Naruto pause and think for a moment, before looking at the fan with a more apprehensive expression.

"_I'll need to go see Temari as soon as I can. I have to find out if she is alright…"_ the blonde thought, nodding affirmatively. He lay back with Isaribi, and watched Mia perform her next trick with a pickle. _"Tomorrow… I'll go see her…"_

_

* * *

_

_**11:00AM Next morning…**_

Zabuza, Haku and Mia were sitting at the dining table, waiting for Ryoko to finish up with their breakfast. She had gotten down making sandwiches and porridge after several lessons from Naruto, who was glad to help her out on his off days, and since she was in a cheerful mood, she felt like making scrambled eggs for the guys and gals this morning. Reading a newspaper quietly, with Haku doing the crosswords, Ryoko eventually came out of the kitchen area with a nice plate of hot scrambled eggs and bacon.

Setting it down with a fork and knife in front of Zabuza, as well as Haku, the red head smirked and removed her oven mitts, smiling looking proudly up at her test subje… I mean… the residents of this household.

"Eat up, meat-sack…"

"Thanks a bunch," Zabuza replied. Before he could dig in though, a certain note popped up in his head, and he turned back to Ryoko. "Oh yeah umm… red… next time you've got a girl in your room, please put up noise suppression tags on your walls, or at least keep the noise to a minimum."

Ryoko blinked as she stared at the swordsmen. Realization hitting her like a brick to the face, the woman blushed a brilliant crimson to match her hair color and stumbled backwards, startled. "Uhh… heh… umm… eh… noted!"

Zabuza nodded back, satisfied with her answer. Returning his attention to his meal, he got a fork full of egg and took his first bite of the best looking scrambled eggs he ever seen. The moment he did so he turned green and gagged, spitting out the egg in a coughing fit.

"OH DEAR GOD!"

Wiping his mouth and sputtering inconsistent, unidentifiable curses and various prayers to Kami, he looked up with a stunned expression on his now pale face. Haku, about to take a bite himself, after seeing his sensei's reaction, set his fork down and pushed his plate away, looking at the meal as if it were toxic refuse.

"What?" Ryoko demanded angrily, crossing her arms. "It can't taste that bad! It's just egg and bacon… with a bit of garlic and lemon powder…"

"Ugh… are you kidding? It tastes like dead caterpillars!" Zabuza choked, standing up and rushing to the kitchen to wash his mouth out.

Ryoko curious herself, picked up Zabuza's fork and decided to taste it for herself. The moment she put it in her mouth, she also turned green and several shades of blue, and nearly puked up all over the table if she hadn't spit it up.

"Ugh! He's right! This is uneatable!"

"Really?" Mia exclaimed, pulling Haku's plate over to her and taking a bite out of the breakfast. She chewed and swallowed, taking a moment to slosh around the tastes in her mouth, before her eyes lit up and she beamed up at Ryoko with an XD expression. "Oh my goodness! This is the most delicious meal I have ever tasted! The flavor! The love! The passion! It is just… divine!" She began shoveling the egg down, humming and singing in delight as she chewed and swallowed. "This is truly the food the Gods would eat!"

"Whatever… you can have it," Ryoko said, pushing the plate towards the girl. Mia downed it like a person starved for two months. While she ate and Ryoko went to make them some toasted sandwiches instead, Isaribi came in with groceries in hand. She went up to the kitchen and deposited them on the desk, ready for Ryoko's next experimental batch.

"Here you are Ryoko," she exclaimed happily, pulling out random stuff such as white bread, cheese, ham, lettuce, tomatoes and bean grass. "You can use these to make sandwiches…"

"Got cucumbers?"

"Yup!" Isaribi held up the vegetable in question, earning a smile from Ryoko, as well as a pat on the shoulder.

"You really are a huge help. Thanks a lot kid…" Ryoko then went about making the sandwiches, while Isaribi made tea. In the meantime, Zabuza had pulled out a toothbrush out of thin air, and was scrubbing his teeth over the kitchen sink. He moved out of the way to let the resident chefs do their thing.

"Isaribi can help you out a lot with cooking as well, red," Zabuza said, walking past the swordswoman as she cut the cucumber and tomato. "Become her apprentice or something. She knows her way around…"

"Do you want to die, Zabuza?" Ryoko asked, turning around and brandishing the knife threateningly. The swordsmen went all pear faced and walked off quickly, not really sure if he wanted to give her an answer. He decided to go take a bath, and headed outside for a clean soak.

At the same time he left, Gai came around the corner, looking quite proud. He marched up to the dining table and deposited three bodies, Naruto, Sakura and Hinata, all three of them dirt ridden, exhausted and unconscious. Haku looked at the three of them in surprise, as did Isaribi, who immediately rushed over when she noticed that her blonde savior was unconscious.

"What happened to them?" Ryoko asked in sort of disinterest. Gai grinned and gave her the thumbs up.

"The power of youth is overwhelming, even for the most youthful!" Gai exclaimed, setting himself up for a huge, eloquent speech. "These kids have shown excellent dexterity and great physical strength, able to keep up with Lee and myself. But in the end, all three of them, including Lee, Neji and Tenten, collapsed under the strain of our morning exercises. It's a shame; I was hoping they could carry on!"

"Right…" Ryoko nodded, looking back at her sandwiches. "Well… good luck with the rest of your training…"

"Will do, proctor!" Gai saluted. "I'm going off to do pushups underneath the waterfall!" He then turned heel and left in a hurry, leaving the three animatedly unconscious Genin in the care of Isaribi.

The purple haired girl shook Hinata, poked Sakura, and tried to resuscitate Naruto. Eventually, she tried a different approach. Grabbing whatever was left of the breakfast Ryoko made; she got a spoonful for each of them and shoved it into their mouths. Mia watched curiously as she finished off her last plate as the dreadful effects of Ryoko's scrambled eggs took hold on the ordinaries. Seconds later, all three members of Team 7 returned to the world coughing, choking and spluttering. Faces green, they all held in their urges to vomit and looked around wildly.

"WHAT! What is it? Are we dead?" Naruto shouted. "I'm in my house! I could be dead!"

"Geez… ugh… what is this God awful taste in my mouth!" Sakura burped, slapping her hand over her mouth. "Did a centipede crawl into my throat and die?"

"I…I don't think… whatever it is I swallowed… died yet…" Hinata whimpered, also burping on the food she swallowed.

Isaribi sighed in relief and smiled at Naruto as he regained his senses, looking up at the girl who brought him back into the real world.

"Hi Naruto-kun! What happened to you?"

"I… don't really know," Naruto replied, clutching the side of his head. "The last I remember was standing on a cliff by a beach watching the sun setting with Lee and Gai holding me up like that scene from the Lion King. I… don't really know whether it was a dream or not…"

"We all must have had the same nightmare," Sakura groaned, slapping her hands over a distraught face, warping into one of utter, comical despair. "IT WAS HORRIBLE!"

"My eyes hurt," Hinata stammered, rubbing the bags formed under her crystal clear orbs, her hair looking more frazzled then normal. "It wasn't a genjutsu… it was real…!"

"It was some kind of freakish, reality warping jutsu, like the Sexy jutsu but worse! Seriously! I picked up a pebble and skipped it across the water! It was mind-blowing!" Naruto stated, using hand gestures to try and describe the scene.

"I was attacked by a seagull!" Sakura shouted, running her hands through her hair frantically. Isaribi watched a white feather fall from the pink kunoichi's head. "Seven seagulls… and a crab!"

"I mean, what the heck was that? It wasn't genjutsu or ninjutsu!" Naruto continued, now looking more paranoid then ever. "It was like I was stuck in that weird, 1960's color wheel, where the blobs were all mashed together, on a poorly made music video!"

"N-Neji was attacked by a dolphin…" Hinata said, remembering the rest of the scene. Ryoko snorted and looked over at her.

"Did it sprout a pair of legs, bark and ate him?" the woman asked from the stove.

"I'm… pretty sure it was a squirrel that got mixed up in the illusion…" Sakura informed.

This conversation went on for another half-an-hour, with Naruto, Sakura and Hinata recounting the horrors they faced in Gai's excessive training regime, as well as the hours of standing they did in the student and teacher, custom-made illusion. In that time, Isaribi listened intently alongside a clearly amused Mia, Haku, and Ryoko, who was successful in her attempts to make them toasted sandwiches.

It was a pretty fun morning…

* * *

_**Later that day…**_

"Here you are Temari-chan," Naruto exclaimed, helping to feed her soup as she lay in her hospital bed wrapped up in bandages and casts, looking like half a mummy from Sunagakure. The golden haired girl sipped the soup and smiled up at Naruto, happy that he was able to come down after a taxing fight the day before and a rigorous training session or torture workshop with Gai and his students.

"You don't look so good, Naruto-kun," Temari giggled, noticing the bags under his eyes and the many Band-Aids he had pasted over his face. "Team Weirdoes really drove you into the ground, didn't they?"

Naruto chuckled. "You don't know the half of it. But then again, after passing out at least five times during their runs around Konoha, their insane push-up routines and their iron-pumping, it's made me realize how much stronger I need to get." The blonde stirred her soup as he sat beside her, blowing on it to cool it. "Gaara is a step above me… and I thought I was stronger then him after all these years. But apparently, he's stronger still…"

"Well, he's had a lot of practice," Temari said, her face falling. "His dad sent assassins after him to try and kill him… I think it was his way of crafting Gaara into the ultimate weapon…"

"That's a bit too much," Naruto replied, feeding another spoonful to her. "I mean, I had Akatsuki after me for years, was chased by wild animals, battles missing-nin, and even now, Anko still sends giant snakes to try and eat me. The latter is mostly for the shits and giggles, but it's training nonetheless." The blonde looked up at Temari, crest-fallen. "Gaara is strong for being able to get through all that."

"Well… you helped him out a lot," Temari chided, her smile growing back. "Becoming his first genuine friend pushed him away from the shadows. It's made all our lives better."

Naruto nodded and continued feeding her, the golden haired girl marveling at his smile and eyes. The hospital room they were confined to was pretty much empty, with the doors to the wing open on the far side, where nurses and doctors were seen passing by through the soulless hallways.

"So…" Temari began again, looking at the blonde curiously as he set her empty bowl down. "How do you intend to go about training till the exams?"

"Physical exercises and working real hard on the jutsu I already know. I've got plenty enough; all I have to do is improve them, particularly my Chameleon Technique. That ought to come in handy in the future," Naruto replied, crossing his arms and looking down at his feet in thought. "I'll need to increase my chakra levels too. If I'm fighting Takagura, then I'll need all the energy I can…"

"WAIT! You're fighting that guy right off the draw?" Temari sat up a bit, but winced at the sharp pain from her ribs. She lay back down, looking at her blonde friend with concern. "You never told me that!"

"Sorry… heh… must have slipped my mind," Naruto chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "I figured I'd surprise you at the exams…"

"Well, I'm shocked, that's for sure!" Temari coughed back. She furrowed her brow as she stared at him. "Listen, Naruto-kun. That boy is not an ordinary Genin. He is powerful… really powerful, and his eyes are empty and soulless… he'll kill you without a second thought. I think he's even more powerful then Gaara, given how this guy acts and how much chakra he can muster effortlessly. You're going to have a hard time against him if it comes down to one on one."

"I know," Naruto leant back in his chair, sighing. "Him, Gaara and myself, all three of us are jinchuriki. We're all in the same league of shinobi, meaning only _**I**_ should be the one to deal with Kirigakure's Three-Tails!" The blonde looked up at Temari, seeing her blinking at him in surprise. "I don't know what's going on with the Kiri Ninja, but I'm going to find out. And if they mean to cause any harm to my friends or my village, I swear on my life, I will protect you all, and defeat them if it comes to it…"

Temari, a little bit overwhelmed by his speech, smiled back and nodded her head affirmatively. "Good luck then, Naruto-kun. Give him one from me!" She thumped the air with her good arm, but settled back after the zaps of pain reached her head. The kunoichi grinned up at the boy. "Still hurts… that was stupid…"

Naruto chuckled and leaned over, kissing her lightly on the lips. The girl was a bit surprised by the sudden show of affection but returned it enthusiastically. While they kissed, there was a knock on the door behind them, causing them to beak a part too early for their taste.

Looking over at the entrance, they saw the Third Hokage standing there, hands behind him and accompanied by two other people who Naruto recognized. The brown haired nurse standing on the Third's right was none other then Kakashi's teammate Rin and on his left was Kin, looking fresh as a daisy and smiling brightly. The old man smiled and approached Temari's bed, with Rin walking up to Naruto and patting him on the shoulder.

"Okay lover-boy, I need to check up on my patient now," the kunoichi exclaimed. Naruto nodded back happily and moved aside. Bidding Temari a sweet, friendly good-bye, he moved off with Hiruzen and Kin to the far end of the room, the former Sound Genin greeting the blonde with a warm hug.

"I assume everything went well?" Naruto asked, looking between Kin and the Third. Sarutobi nodded affirmatively, giving the young trouble-maker a kind smile. He then patted Kin on the shoulder.

"She cooperated with us, and told us everything we needed to know," Sarutobi said. Looking around, he walked up closer to Naruto and bent down to whispering distance. "Because you know what is going to happen in Konohagakure in a month's time, you're going to have to share with me the information you possess. I'm also going to talk with Temari about it, but I'd prefer to hear this story on all angles possible."

"I understand," Naruto nodded, glancing over at the golden haired girl, who was having her casts and bandages looked over. "However, I think that anything I can give you at this point will be just a repeat. But…I _can_ give you a report later tonight…" Looking back up at the old man, the blonde gave him his serious, knowing expression, which Sarutobi knew well. "I'm meeting up with a Kiri Genin tonight. I can give you the whole thing in brief later onwards, once I've acquired the Intel I need."

"Very well…" Sarutobi breathed out, pulling his pipe out of his mouth and extinguishing it. He then glanced down at Kin, seeing her looking up at him as well. He gestured to the young teenager, then at the blonde whom she also had great affection for. "I've put in the paperwork to have her move in with you and made her a permanent citizen of Konohagakure. Her passport and documentation will be sent to your estate as soon as possible. However, I'm afraid until this Invasion debacle is over and done with, I cannot have her registered as an official ninja of the village just yet. We have eyes and ears placed on all foreigners entering Konohagakure as we speak, meaning that my ANBU forces are stretched thin." Naruto and Kin stood by one another, listening to the old man as he gave them the run down on the situation. "We've compensated for the shortage of ANBU with the former ROOT shinobi now responding to me, but we're still undermanned. I'm going to have every available Jonin and Chunin pulling in to monitor the events, so I expect full cooperation from you Naruto, and no wandering off anymore. Deal?"

"Got it, chief," Naruto nodded.

In agreement, the Third gave them a silent nod and headed over to Temari's bed, with Naruto and Kin leaving the wing of the hospital and heading out. While the pair marched hand in hand down the hallways, the blonde looked over at the raven haired girl and smiled.

"Feel like some dango?" he asked.

"I'd love some…" Kin wrapped her arms around his, and the two went out for lunch.

* * *

_**Meanwhile…**_

Those Genin who were able to make into the third and final part of the exams have immediately gone into rigorous training regimes of their own. A great majority of them have gone to see Jonin who could train them, while a handful of them just didn't really care. However, for all those who were desperate, and felt that their skill level was inefficient for the up and coming tournament, they were really getting into training.

Lee trained with Gai relentlessly, applying training weights over his regular ones, and shadow sparring under his sensei's guide. The Jonin watched from a distance as his student ran through combinations demonstrated, and corrected him with either a shout or a trip.

"Repetition is the key Lee!" Gai shouted, watching as the boy spun kick through the air, almost succeeding in prolonged levitation with the velocity of his kick. "Do the combos over and over again till you have perfected it to the point it becomes a subconscious and unconscious reflex! While genjutsu produces visions of the world, and ninjutsu breathes energy, taijutsu breathes life! Life is hard, and your goal is to overcome it Lee!"

"YES GAI-SENSEI!" Lee roared, his punches throwing sweat off of his body.

In spite of not being a part of the final exams, Neji had taken it upon himself to get stronger as well. With the help of Tenten, he began perfecting a new defensive technique he had learned by watching clansmen of the main branch family, as well as a new style of Gentle Fist. He and Tenten shared the same field as Gai and Lee, only they confined themselves to a more narrow space in order for Neji to work harder in learning his technique. It took a lot of physical and spiritual energy, but the boy was determined to excel to a level above his fellow shinobi.

Gaara had taken the liberty of exploring the village, not really feeling the need to get any training in. Right now, he just wanted to relax and drink in the sights. Kankuro was the same, but chose to focus most of his time fixing up his puppets and adding new tricks to them, such as poison blades and gas. He even went on to adding some new additions to Crow, including a projectile launcher. To him, mastering his puppeteer techniques and adding extra weapons to them, was the best he could do at this point, particularly against his dog of an opponent.

Naruto met up with Gaara with his friend Kin later that day and the three of them went out for dango. It was by some hilarious coincidence that they passed by Ino, who was jogging with Asuma, the girl crumbling under the strain of weights the teacher was making her wear. Choji and Shikamaru jogged behind them, all three of them literally dying. Obviously, Asuma wanted to put all his students through their paces, shaping them up for the future.

While Ino and Lee worked, Gaara relaxed and Kankuro played with his toys, Kiba was working harder then he ever had in his life. After hearing the tough time he had fighting the Uchiha in the preliminaries, Hana decided to move Kiba up the ladder, and tossed him into training with their mother. As terrifying and as painful as it was, at least the teen was spending time with his family, not to mention checking up with Kakashi and arranging lesson times with his sensei, who was also training Sasuke, and as best as he could, Shino. It was hard figuring out what to teach the bug user, but eventually decided to train him in a couple of taijutsu and ninjutsu techniques that he could use.

Hinata went to Anko and Kurenai to train her, the two Jonin kunoichi sure to give her something to work on. Sakura also accompanied them, but later focused on learning from Ryoko and Haku on technique and chakra. Naruto agreed to work in conjunction with his teammates, but a little bit later, once he had gotten his training out of the way. He also organized to distribute his time fairly between his friends and exercises, and arranged to get lessons from Anko and Jiraiya, if he ever bumped into the old man around town.

Of course, the Kiri Team was rarely to be seen the following month. But more on that later…

Everyone had issues and responsibilities to focus on, good guys, and bad guys…

* * *

_**That night…**_

_**Ichiraku's Ramen…**_

Having spent the day catching up and working hard, Naruto and his team got together and headed for their favorite Ramen Bar. Having not forgotten the meeting with the Kiri Genin, the three of them aimed to be as punctual and as prepared as possible, not knowing whether Miki really wanted to talk, or she had some sort of ambush planned for them. It didn't come as much of a surprise to them when they found the blind girl sitting alone on the far corner of the Ramen stand, downing her second bowl. She was fully dressed in the same outfit they saw her in the day before, and was still armed to the teeth.

Sensing the members of Team 7 sit down next to her, the white haired girl smiled and turned to them, pale white eyes staring through the darkness she saw, towards Naruto, Hinata and Sakura.

"I knew you'd come here today… eventually…" she murmured with a knowing smile.

"You didn't wait for us here for two days straight, did you?" Naruto asked.

"Actually, she did," Ayame informed. She served Team 7 their usual order, at their admission months ago to prepare their serves as soon as they walked in, and smiled in delight at her three favorite customers. "She told me not to worry; she said she was waiting for somebody important. I guess you guys are that…'somebody important' persons… eh?"

"Indeed," Sakura nodded, turning to the bowl in front of her and breaking two sets of chopsticks between her and Hinata. The Hyuuga, a little exhausted from her day with Gai in the morning and Anko mid-day till now, nodded her head and went on to have her tea.

"So… you wanted to tell me something, Miki?" Naruto asked, giving the girl a serious expression, yet still maintaining an air of curiosity about his look. "It had to be important that you couldn't even let your teammates know…"

"They may be my teammates on this mission, but they are not close comrades," Miki said, giving the boy a strange look before turning back to her bowl, stirring the contents passively. "I left my comrades back in the village when I was hired to sub in as Kirigakure's Genin team participating in the Chunin Exams…"

"You were hired?" Naruto asked. He looked over at his teammates, both of them looking around, before turning back and nodding, after making sure the area was clear. The blonde turned back to Miki. "That's not necessarily a good thing in our case…"

"No, it certainly is not," Miki replied, taking a sip of her broth from her spoon. "In truth, the only reason I'm telling you this is because I'm concerned for the safety of my village and the alliance between Konohagakure and Kirigakure." She glanced up at the blonde, frowning. "Out of my entire team, I am the _**only**_ Genin _actually_ from Kirigakure. The other three are rogue ninja originating from my village with their own agendas. Though the Mizukage _is_ aware that she has one team participating in the exams, the original Jonin and the three Genin meant to participate were killed several miles away from Konohagakure, and were replaced."

"How did you get the documentation to get you past security and into the exams?" Naruto asked. "Surely you couldn't forge them that good, not even the Third Hokage saw past your fake identifications. He knows something is up with your group, but certainly not from your passports, otherwise he would have mentioned it to us…"

"Our Jonin leader managed to get them through with a powerful genjutsu pasted onto the papers, so that whoever looks at the documents, sees our photos and details instead of the actual owners," Miki said. "We met a contact who fixed the documents for us. The fake I.D's and forms have managed to hold up this far with that same genjutsu…"

"That's insane," Sakura said, leaning over and looking at the girl. "Genjutsu can only be produced and held up when in direct contact of the user. There's no way it can be pasted onto random objects as small and flimsy as I.D cards, it's impossible."

"It's a permanent, potent illusion," Miki stated. "Your security details will never be able to crack a level of genjutsu like that. However, that's not important…" She looked between the three of them. "What is important is you three knowing of _our_ purpose here. Our team leader, the big guy in the hood, intends to attack Konohagakure at the same time Orochimaru will."

"Hang on… your Jonin teacher?" Hinata asked, blinking in surprise at her future opponent. "H-How does he plan to go about fighting Konoha all by himself?"

"You don't know him," Miki said, frowning as she began summing up her leader's abilities. "He's incredibly powerful and extremely dangerous. I didn't need to identify his profile in the bingo book, I felt it the moment I met him. He's stronger then Takagura and myself… even stronger then your Hokage."

"What about Takagura, and you… what are your roles in this?" Naruto asked.

Miki sighed and shook her head. "You obviously know that my ghost of a teammate is Yagura. The former Forth Mizukage is actually being controlled by a powerful juinjutsu technique created by _our_ team leader, who plans to use the power of the Three-Tailed Beast to take over Konohagakure. Eclipse is also involved in his attack plan, to blanket the entire village with his storm technique and decimate it. He's much more powerful then he lets on though… smoke is not his only trump card…"

"And you…?" Sakura queried, raising an eyebrow.

"Look… I'm only sharing you this information to clear the name of Kirigakure and any involvement my village has in this attack," Miki said, furrowing her brow at the three members of Team 7. "We cannot control the actions of our rogue ninja, and we have every available Hunter Nin tracking them down. I could have been a part of the hunting party, but instead, I was hired by this group of rogue ninja through our village; as a result I _**cannot**_ break my deal with them…"

"Who are you, exactly?" Naruto asked, looking her up and down curiously. "You certainly abide by a strong deal-binding code of conduct, and you're much more sensible then any ninja I've ever come across. You're not an ordinary shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Mist…"

"Before I tell you who I am, I will make you a deal," Miki said, turning to face the blonde fully on the stool. "If I give you this next important piece of Intel, then you must promise me that the Mizukage attending the Chunin Exams in audience with your village leaders will not be blamed for the attack. I can only go so far without stepping outside of the boundaries of my responsibilities in this mission, as well as insure the continued alliance between our villages, and the safety of Kirigakure. Our Team Leader plans to kill the Mizukage, as well as the Hokage and the Kazekage, if his attack should succeed."

Naruto sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Looking at his teammates, he saw the concern, and knew they were thinking the exact same thing as he was. Frowning, he turned back to Miki and nodded.

"I may not like it, but a deal is a deal. You have my word…"

"I am one of the newly appointed _Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist_," Miki said, watching Naruto's expression turn from one of seriousness to one of surprise. His teammates were also shocked at this news, but continued to listen unheeded. "I have replaced Kariya, the_ Hurricane of the Hidden Mist_ and my old master, who was killed by Zabuza Momochi in an attempted coop against Mizukage Ameritus, also replaced years ago. I am now my old sensei's equal, and have been hired to attack the Leaf Village."

"That's… a snap…" Sakura shook her head, processing the newly acquired data in her head. "You're one of the Legendary Swordsmen?"

"There are only three of us currently working for Kirigakure, including myself, Chojuro and Kagari. The four others of the last group who went rogue have yet to be replaced, and won't be until we have reacquired their swords," Miki informed. "Speaking of which, I believe you, Naruto… also desire information on Kisame Hoshigaki, former member of the _Seven Ninja Swordsmen_, and now an S-Rank criminal working for the Akatsuki."

"Yeah, I'm hunting the bastard down. What info do you have on him?" Naruto asked.

"Just this…" Miki reached into her kimono and pulled out a scroll. She slid it over to the blonde, who took it without hesitation. "Information on Akatsuki that our contact gave to us with the intention of giving it to you, the _Nightwalker…"_

Naruto frowned. "You know me?"

"Apparently… but our team leader wasn't really fond of the idea of exchanging information like this, since he assumed you were a rogue ninja like us, but then found out you were the jinchuriki of this village," Miki replied, getting to her feet. Picking up her parasol, she opened it up and propped it on her shoulder, staring down at the blonde. "He doesn't like jinchuriki for some reason…" Naruto snorted, while Sakura and Hinata just shook their heads.

"There's a shock," Naruto commented. "He may act creepy, but he looks like a total push over…"

"Be careful," Miki warned. "I recognized Ryoko as one of the original _Seven Ninja Swordsmen_ at the exams, and I found out that you are also harboring Zabuza Momochi somewhere in Konoha thanks to his partner, Haku. As much as it is a dishonor to our village, they are no longer a part of Kirigakure, so attempting to assassinate them at this point is meaningless. However, their presence here puts you in _**great**_ danger…"

"Why?" Sakura looked up at her, surprised by that note.

"Our team leader hates the _Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist_ just as much as he hates jinchuriki. He's had a grudge against them for years…"

"Wait!" Naruto stood up. "You don't mean that he is…"

* * *

_**Near Naruto's Estate…**_

Standing outside of the gates to Naruto Uzumaki's home, the hooded Kiri Jonin of Miki's team glared up at the building in front of him. Attempting to get close to it, he got zapped by a high powered electric charge from an unknown barrier, and staggered back from the recoil. Though the protective barrier did stop him in his tracks, it didn't faze him one bit. However, what _did_ get his attention was the presence of another assailant waiting in the shadows. He turned around, just in time to see Anko Mitarashi hop down from an overhanging branch, and land on the footpath behind him. Crouching low, she grinned up at the big intruder as he glared at her from under the shadows of his disguise.

The Snake Jonin grinned and reached into her pouch behind her, drawing a kunai.

"A little too close to the fire aye, big boy?" the woman pointed, slowly rising to her feet. "That's private property…"

"Leave kid… unless you want to die," the hooded, Kiri Jonin hissed back, his tone deep and raspy. Anko chuckled, pulling out her combat knife from behind her and running her tongue along its blade.

"You picked the wrong kunoichi to mess with tonight," Anko snapped back. "Unless you've checked your bingo book recently, I'm not the kind of person you want to catch out on a full moon. This is my student's home, and I won't have some oversized brute knocking down his door and raiding the place."

"I never pick my opponents incorrectly," the man flatly stated, turning to face her fully. "There is not a single shinobi alive who can bring me down."

"How so?"

"Thousands have tried, and thousands have failed," the Jonin replied, raising his right hand from under his cloak and grabbing the rim of his hood. Anko tensed, and readied herself for a confrontation. "Upon seeing my face, you should know…"

Pulling back his hood, he revealed a chiseled, scarred face from years of conflict. It only took Anko one glance to recognize the face, and she nearly dropped her knife in shock.

"No way…"

* * *

"Are you kidding me? You know who the guy actually is, and you're still working for him?" Naruto asked. "What ever happened to hunting down the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and bringing them to justice, or eliminating them?"

"Unless they are admitted as a shinobi to another Hidden Village at their consent, then we can't really do anything about it. It's the law of shinobi, trading allegiances is common among us because we are expendable assets, and we solve our battles on the field, not through discussion. If something becomes a problem, you stop it, any way you can," Miki said, looking at the shocked faces of Team 7. "However, our team leader is _**far**_ too powerful now for any of our Hunter Nin to bring him down."

"How do you know? You haven't tried to fight him, and you're heaps strong!" Sakura stated.

"I was hired by him. I took an oath to accept any job I am given, especially when paid up front. When the _Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist_ make a deal it cannot be broken," Miki said, before glancing over at Naruto again. "Even if I did fight him, he would destroy me…"

* * *

"Hikita!" Anko choked, trembling on the spot as she stared at the face of the scarred man. "Rogue ninja of the _Village Hidden in the Mists_ and former member of the legendary _Seven Ninja Swordsmen_…"

The Jonin grinned at her. "The moon speaks my name… _**only the one who wanders shall be safe from my wrath…**_ don't give me a reason to _destroy_ you." When he said this, the tall, clinically insane warrior marched towards her, the woman still staring at him in silent fear. However, instead of attacking her, he walked right by her, his cloak swishing in the wind. He stopped as soon as he passed the woman, the swordsman glancing behind him with a snide grin still on his face. "If you want to try and kill me now… here's your chance. Take it…"

Anko remained silent, sweating bullets and staring ahead of her.

After a minute or so, Hikita chuckled and looked up towards the night sky. "You have chosen your fate wisely. Only the smart shinobi will calculate their odds of survival and take the best course of action. Fighting me will surely end with your name on a tombstone…" He continued walking on, leaving the woman to her thoughts. "Besides, I didn't have any intention of hurting your precious student; I would be acting outside of my responsibilities then. That boy is someone else's prey…"

He vanished when he evaporated into mist, leaving Anko alone on the footpath leading up to Naruto's house.

Trembling uncontrollably, the woman gulped and glared down at her hands. Her kunai was hanging loosely in her grip, the shock too much for her to bare.

"_I was about to fight one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist head to head! I must be out of my mind!"_

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

_**

* * *

**_

Author's Note:

I know Miki is working for both sides in this gig. I designed her to be the character who is extremely and equally loyal to her clients and to her village, not to mention powerful and difficult to really understand or know. In this case, she is a double agent, playing a role as both a good guy and a bad guy (or is she really a bad guy? There are more surprises in the later chapters, so enjoy). Oh yeah, and I wanted to do a scene with Ryoko and Anko for a while, don't worry things will unfold more further in the story between them and Naruto.


	37. Training

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Training_

_**A week later…**_

_**The Land of Grass…**_

"We are looking for your next target in some tavern?" Guren asked, looking over at Yoroi who was glaring up at the sign of the bar, expression quite irritated. "That reminds me, you never mentioned who it was we were looking for next. Who is it that Orochimaru-sama wants by his side, other then me?"

"Oh, I think you know her quite well," Yoroi replied, glancing over at the purple haired woman. "In a lot of the old photographs of well-known Feudal Lords, tyrants and criminal organizations, you can see her standing on the leader's right hand side. The funny thing is though, while she's frequently hired by, let's say, Akatsuki, answering to the bosses and doing their dirty work from time to time, in other cases, she would work against them without a second thought, or hunt down the wanted personnel in their group in her free time…"

Guren blinked, recalling some older memories of seeing a particular figure standing by Orochimaru's side in Kabuto's absence. As thrilled as she was to learn that Kabuto was dead, and wanted nothing more then to kiss the man responsible, she was pretty pissed that somebody else had taken his place so quickly. She had yet a couple more people to carve through.

"So we're looking for Kisarabi… ugh," Guren groaned, shaking her head. "I thought it would be another hundred years till I saw that hag's face again…" Folding her arms, she glared at Yoroi. "Do you think she's all fucked up after all her work in the last five years?"

Yoroi smirked. "Only one way to find out…"

Pushing the door open, the pair strode in, entering a dimly lit, two story bar with tables occupied by all sorts of people. The Land of Grass was a well known country, nestled between three of the major shinobi nations making up the continent, renowned for its hot-spot tourist locations, excellent forests, wide open, untouched country sides, good trade, and a great hiding place for internationally wanted criminals. However, instead of causing trouble here, this is just another place for rogue ninja and mercenaries to call home and, to put it into perspective, hide out. In days when they are not causing trouble or getting their butts kicked, Missing Nin and criminals would come here and drain away their sorrows.

Aside from the fact that the moment Yoroi and Guren entered the bar and noticed all the missing ninja in here, there was no fighting or arguing whatsoever.

However, ignoring everybody else, the pair immediately spotted a familiar person sitting at a round table in the middle of the bar, accompanied by three other ninja.

The one that stood out was the one Orochimaru's lackeys were looking for. A woman about thirty years old, but looking to be in her early twenties, with whitish blonde hair, with delicious, smooth, creamy skin, and a stoic expression ever constant on an angelic face. She looked serious, but was cute at the same time. Furthermore, she wore a brown, wide-brimmed hat overshadowing her face, an eye-patch covering her right eye, which was hidden by her hair, and had a series of protective, metallic ring braces on both her forearms and gauntlets jammed with gizmos and had miniature scrolls locked into them. She also wore a dark purple trench coat with royal golden markings lining it. Other then that piece of clothing covering her body, she wore just a pair of very short, tight, black spandex shorts. The trench coat was fastened together by crisscrossing string, covering most of her breasts, yet showing off a reasonable amount of cleavage. Metallic shin guards and brown sandals completed the look, as she had her feet set up on the table.

It was also noticeable she had holsters containing strange weapons that Guren had never seen before, and small scrolls holstered in a bandoleer around her waist. A long, staffed weapon was also strapped to her back.

The three ninja around her wore headbands that were blank, and they varied in size. The one sitting next to her and talking with her had spiky red hair (which bared a similar resemblance to that of the Yondaime) and wore beige purple and light brown trench coat, with strange gloved hands. The girl sitting across the table from her, looking to be a young teenager and very frog like in her facial structure had white hair, and similar purple and white beige clothes in contrast to her comrades. The last one sitting on the woman's other side was huge, with a slab of stone he calls a face, quite ugly, and wore dark green and light brown clothes. The three of them looked to be formidable ninjas, but the woman in the middle paid them little mind.

"I'm telling you… _**no**_, Ishidate," the blonde woman huffed in a very breathy, luscious tone of voice, lighting a cigarette and taking a deep drag on it. She glanced at the man she considered a friend and business associate with indifference. "I won't fight you on the grounds that you will pay me, but because I have a few rules. Rule 1; do not engage in direct battle with the client. Rule 2; that fight must not exceed the universal law of _one-shot, one-kill_, nothing that will go over the price of a single bullet."

"You're afraid you might accidentally kill me?" Ishidate raised an eyebrow at her, before chuckling and propping his head on his hand. "Kisarabi, please…you know you are no match for me… I'm stronger then you… and I'm way above your league. I can take you out just like _**that**_…" He snapped his fingers, and his brute of a companion, Kongo, rose to his feet.

The man stomped around and grabbed the woman by the shoulder, Ishidate grinning. Kisarabi responded in a typical, monotone way, glancing at the enlarged hand.

"Please…" she breathed, a puff of smoke exhaling from her lips. "Don't touch the merchandise…"

Swiftly yet effortlessly, she grabbed the hand on her shoulder with her right hand and lifted it off of her shoulder. Suddenly, electricity streamed down the arm and began electrocuting the body the arm was attached to. Kongo cried out in agony as he was literally shocked into submission, with Kisarabi glaring at him uncaringly. After about half a minute, and after the man was brought to his knees, she released him, allowing the smoking rogue ninja to crawl away. Ishidate laughed out right, with Karenbana giggling on the sidelines at her electrocuted teammate.

"You still got it, Kisarabi!" Ishidate laughed, lifting his drink towards her. "Maybe next time when we meet on the battlefield, we'll see who the superior fighter is…"

Kisarabi raised her tea to him and tapped glasses. "Like wise…"

Sculling his drink, while Kisarabi sipped her tea after the toast, Ishidate and his two comrades then bid goodbye to her, got up and left the bar, the commotion surprisingly not deterring anybody from _their_ drinks or meals. As the _Three Wandering Ninja _left, Yoroi and Guren approached the woman's table. Pulling out the once occupied chairs, the pair sat down in front of the mercenary, who looked up at them from under her hat. Huffing on her cigarette, she sighed.

"Oh, it's you…"

"Yeah, it's me," Yoroi exclaimed, smirking. "How have you been, Kisarabi?"

"Well, as you can see, I've found my happy place," she replied, gesturing to the hell-hole of a bar around her. Picking up her tea and removing the cigarette from her mouth, she glared up at them. "Got another job for me?"

"Not from me, from Lord Orochimaru …" Yoroi stated. A waitress approached them and asked if they wanted anything. Guren ordered some sake, with Yoroi agreeing to share. When she left, Kisarabi leaned back on her chair and looked at the pair curiously.

"Wouldn't Kabuto usually come around and ask for me on your master's behalf?" she asked, tossing her lighter around in her free hand, clicking it open, and closing it, in a random pattern. "He is Orochimaru's lapdog after all…"

"Not anymore," Yoroi replied, lacing his fingers together and leaning forward on the table. Guren sat back, casually listening in on the conversation. Kisarabi raised an eyebrow at him.

"Replaced?"

"Dead…" This answer had the mercenary woman return to a normal seating position, and glare at the man hard, trying to see if he was joking or not.

"Bullshit…"

"Yup! He screwed up in a mission and got his ass beat by a mere Genin," Yoroi huffed, shaking his head in disbelief. "The price on his head means that the brat that knocked him off his high horse, will definitely be collecting big from Kumo. Guess he beat you to the punch, eh…"

Kisarabi leant back in her chair, flicking the ass off of her cigarette. Tapping her metallic lighter on the table, she furrowed her brow as she glared at Yoroi.

"I would really like to meet the brat that killed Kabuto and thank him personally," Kisarabi exclaimed, half-smiling. "The story would be a hell of a lot more believable, not to mention more credit building if the asshole was beaten by one of the Sannin…"

"He gave the kid too much leeway, and underestimated him," Yoroi surmised, shrugging his shoulders. "It doesn't matter now."

"So you have stepped up to replace Kabuto, and Orochimaru also wants me by his side?" She looked at Guren, then back at Yoroi. At the same time, the waitress came back around with their sake and served them. Tipping her hat to the lady, she glared over at Yoroi. "Does he want me to kill the brat that did in Kabuto, or is there something else going down?"

Yoroi glanced over at Guren, who frowned back at him and nodded. The man smirked and looked at the mercenary woman, who tapped her fingers impatiently next to her glass of sake.

"We're planning an invasion of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and Orochimaru would like you to perform a breach and clear mission for him, with some cold-blooded killing on the side," the man replied, taking a sip of his sake. "He insisted that we retrieve you for the mission…"

"A dog must obey its master, or risk getting neutered as punishment for defiance," Kisarabi commented, grinding her cigarette into the table and tossing it. "Go on…"

"He wants you to capture a girl named Haru, living in the Forth Hokage's old estate, a young child said to possess the Rinnegan eyes," Yoroi said, shrugging his shoulders. "She is guarded by formidable shinobi, including Anko Mitarashi, the Ice Cold Shinobi Haku, Ryoko Takahashi and Zabuza Momochi. If you eliminate the four of them to get to her, it will mean you can collect big on the bounties on their heads…" he rubbed his fingers together in emphasis.

"But to get to the girl I will have to go in deep into the Hidden Village, which is on high alert now due to the Chunin Exams reaching its final stages," Kisarabi stated, judging off of facts she learned from long ago. "It's impossible… not to mention… crazy…"

"I thought you were the best bounty hunter in all the shinobi nations," Guren exclaimed cockily, earning a glare from the girl. "The woman, who single-handedly brought down an entire country, wiped out an entire royal family without batting an eyelash and killed both Hanzo Hattori and Fuma Kotaro. Perhaps your… _reputation_… has been a bit exaggerated…"

"I didn't say I wouldn't do it," Kisarabi hissed. Sighing, she sat back in her seat, propping her legs back up onto the table. "I want a squadron of your finest _Sound Shinobi_, assassins with _Cursed Seals_ who will not hesitate killing anything that gets in their way. Oh… and I will be… _**tripling**_ my usual rate…"

"Money is of little concern," Yoroi replied, smirking. "We'll provide you with whatever you require, and also a route to get you inside the building…"

The woman smirked. "You've got yourselves a deal."

Meanwhile, as the Sound shinobi and their hired gun discussed payment, unbeknownst to them, two shinobi sitting by the bar drinking, dressed in black cloaks with red cloud patterns and wearing straw hats, with one of them carrying a huge sword wrapped in gauze on his back, had heard the entire conversation…

* * *

_**Konohagakure…**_

_**Training Field 3…**_

Anko and Sakura, taking a break from their morning routine, watched with great interest as Naruto attempted to take down the Third Hokage. The old man had agreed to spend some time with the blonde after being blackmailed by him for the hundredth time into training. Of course, he agreed to train the boy, for fear of being scolded by the female members of his ANBU bodyguards, particularly the former ANBU Rin and the present Yugao. Of course, he was having more fun then he cared to let onto, tossing the kid around single-handedly.

Though the news of another Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist being among the villagers shook the Third Hokage to the core, he could do little about it. The day of the exams was already set, and everybody was high strung. Canceling the exams would backfire on the village's credit. The best he could do at this point was having ANBU circling the Kiri Team around the clock, and so far, they weren't giving him any reason to step in and stop them.

Even news and information from Naruto prevented him from acting. In a discussion between himself and the boy, as well as the Hokage's best Jonin and ANBU, the village leader felt that the best course of action to take was to wait until the day of the final part of the exams. If the rogue ninja's plans coincided with Orochimaru's invasion time, then the chances of the Kiri Nin eliminating Orochimaru as a threat was extremely high.

Sometimes chaos was the best smokescreen for victory to slip through. Nobody knew this better then he Hokage.

After hitting the ground for the twentieth time in a row by the old man, Naruto, dressed in just a pair of dark green slacks and wearing training weight, rolled back to his feet and wiped the side of his mouth, glaring up at the old man as he huffed on his pipe, smiling.

"You're quick Naruto," Sarutobi exclaimed. "However, if you want to beat me, you have to be quicker then that to actually land an attack…"

Huffing, Naruto leapt back up and charged, zip-lining from side to side on his approach. Using as much physical strength as he could muster, he tried to throw off the old man, only to trip up when he lunged in with a jab, the old man tripping him and throwing him off balance. Flying through the air, the blonde hit the grass hard and rolled to a stop, groaning in agony.

"Damn it…"

"Don't be so hasty," the Third chuckled. "By relying solely on movement and reflex, you involuntarily reveal your weaknesses to your enemies. That's a mistake you cannot make in direct combat. Work your way around, and instead, use your opponent's own weapons and strengths against them…"

Sakura giggled when she watched Naruto sit up and rub the back of his head in annoyance, with Anko shaking her head.

"Admit it; he's getting his ass kicked, isn't he?" Anko exclaimed.

"Naruto-kun can't be beaten by just anyone," Sakura replied, smiling up at her teacher. "Although, when he does fight someone like Hokage-sama, he realizes just how much further he needs to go. Sometimes, a great win can come from an equally great loss."

Flipping through the air, Naruto reengaged the old man, who, with his eyes closed, ducked under a roundhouse kick and dodged a combo attack, before chopping at the side of the boy's head as if he were swatting a fly when the blonde over swung in his punch. Naruto managed to block the blow, but the resultant impact sent him flying through the air and straight into a tree some twenty meters away. Crashing, and forming a deep imprint in the tree, he slumped to the ground and glared up, his arm sporting a red and purple bruise.

The Third put his arm behind his back and smiled at the boy. "Come now Naruto… balance…"

"_He tripped me. Fighting dirty…"_ Naruto rubbed the bruise on his arm, feeling it numb away as the Kyuubi started healing it. If that hit connected with a more vital area, it would have either knocked him out flat or killed him. The blonde smirked. _"That's how a real ninja should fight…"_

Grabbing a stone, Naruto tossed it once then pitched it at his opponent, the rock curving through the air. The Third, with his eyes still closed, dodged the projectile barely, at the same time, stepped back when Naruto's kick came flying through the air at him. He blocked the next incoming punches and kicks with his one free hand, which was holding onto his pipe.

Sliding back to avoid a leg swipe, the Third Hokage then side stepped as Naruto hooked at him, the blonde leaving himself wide open. He whacked the pipe at his arm and knocked him downwards, Naruto stumbling and barrel-rolling to recover, effectively avoiding the Hokage's jab. Assuming a crouched stance, the blonde then spun around and, at the same time, kicked up dirt with his foot and flicked it up at the old man. The Third shielded himself from the debris throw, and reacted in time to catch Naruto's incoming leg on a backwards, roundhouse kick.

Naruto growled as he tried to yank his leg back, but was thrown over by the old man, who chuckled as he watched the boy back-flip and land a safe distance away, panting.

"Very good! Keep it up," the Third said, refilling his pipe. "I've got all day!"

Anko blinked. "Just what is Naruto trying to prove?" She watched as the Third stepped around every attempted attack made by the boy to follow. Sure he was old and had a lot of paper work to do, but apparently, he was having quite a bit of fun at the moment. Naruto was too, finally finding someone he could really vent out his full strength against without the concern of hurting that person. "He's really letting himself go."

"Hokage-sama is his idol, and one of the first people to genuinely care for Naruto-kun," Sakura said, smiling at Anko. "Becoming stronger then the one he admires is one of Naruto's goals, and he will stop at nothing to achieve this. He told me and Hinata that… quite some time ago. He also told me… _you_ really cared for him as well… and that he grew up admiring you and Hokage-sama…"

The Snake Jonin smiled back at the girl and nodded. "I did, and I still do." She looked up towards her student, still playing catch the old man and try to knock him on his ass. "I cared for him when he was young… and then… after a while, I started to admire the brat as well. He's really something else." Anko grinned widely and giggled. "He's cute to. I really love strong, young men…" The Jonin licked her lips excitedly, sending a shiver down Sakura's back, with a deep blush accompanying the action.

"_If I have to share sensei with Naruto-kun, she can have him on Wednesdays and I'll have him on Mondays…"_ Sakura shook her head and looked away, returning her attention to Naruto's training. The blonde was now chasing the Third with more explosive movements, his speed really going up a notch as he, with great effort as deduced by his yelling, attacked the old man. He was now starting to focus a bit more, his experience in this making him wearier of Naruto's moves.

It may have been hand to hand, but Naruto was as passionate about fighting as Lee was, but in his own way.

"_Naruto-kun is getting stronger… every day…"_

* * *

_**A week later…**_

Naruto was out with little Haru, Haku and Kin, taking a break from his rigorous training regime, and heading off down town with them to do some shopping, as well as go down t the local hot springs later onwards. The blonde happily carried Little Haru on his shoulders, the young raven haired girl giggling loudly and cheering as he hopped down stairs and jogged a bit, with Haku and Kin following close behind, looking at the pair with smiles on their faces.

As they walked down the main shopping boulevard, passing by various restaurants and stalls, Naruto and Little Haru stopped for a moment outside of a Kiri Cuisine restaurant, peering through the window into the restaurant's aquarium, where the fish and sea creatures they cooked fresh for their customers were displayed. Little Haru awed at the sight of such exotic fish and delicious items, including the huge spider crabs on display, crawling about the tank, wondering who was going to be selected next on the dish.

"Wow!" Haru exclaimed, pressing her face up against the window, with Naruto also doing the same in their double-decker position. "They are so big…"

"Aren't you scared?" the blonde asked, looking up at the little girl. "Crabs scare me sometimes, with their eight arms and legs, and the way they stare at you…" He made a weird face when he did this, scaring the barramundi swimming around in front of him.

Haru shook her head, grinning. "I like crabs! When you play rock-paper-scissors with them, they always pick scissors!" She made snippy gestured with her fingers, and pinched the glass. "Pinch! Cut! Pinch! Cut!"

"Well, I wouldn't want to be the crab that challenges you!" Naruto grinned. He then laughed when he saw Little Haru playing a game of rock-paper-scissors with the crab on the other side of the glass. The crab, seemingly understanding the little girl, played along with her, timing the hand movements and releasing on the go.

"Jan! Ken! Po!" Haru giggled, throwing a rock, with the crab throwing… well… scissors. "YAY! I WIN!" The young girl laughed and clapped her hands, the crab frothing and bubbling at the mouth, with that cute, animated smile on its face.

Haku chuckled as he watched Naruto and Haku ogle the fish in the aquarium, and glanced over at Kin. They were both wearing casual clothes, him in his pink kimono and Kin wearing a yellow sundress. Unbeknownst to Haku, he was getting a lot of glances from a lot of girls walking by, who would giggle and walk off.

"Naruto-kun really cares for his precious people…"

Kin nodded and smiled back. "Just like you and your friend Zabuza-san, right?"

Haku nodded back, looking up towards the sky. "He is my master, teacher and mentor, the person to rescue me from my loneliness. Because he saved my life, I will repay my dept with it, by protecting him no matter what." He then looked back down at Kin, smiling. "If you truly care about someone, it will show in one form or another." He closed his eyes and nodded his head. "I care for my friends and the person most precious to me."

"Did Naruto learn that from you?" Kin asked, to which Haku replied with a nod. He closed his eyes and smiled even wider.

"We all learn something from somebody… don't we?" Haku opened his eyes again and looked back at Naruto Haru, who was shooed away by the manager after ogling the fish for too long and distracting some of the customers inside. "No one is really self taught. In reality, there's always a shadow we are standing in, a light we are following, and a path already laid out for us to walk along. We live in a world where lessons of the old are taught to the new, where the old are eventually replaced by the younger generation, and surpassed."

"I can… understand that," Kin exclaimed, while she and Haku followed after Naruto and Little Haru to the next store, the pair checking out some of the fruit. The blonde bought Little Haru an apple, and she immediately began eating it as soon as it was paid for. "I mean, when you look down at your feet, you're actually find walking on a footpath laid out by somebody else, literally and metaphorically…" She looked up at the older teen, smiling brightly. "As time goes on and the footpath begins to deteriorate, it is eventually repaired by a new generation, and so on…"

"But don't count out the old generation just yet," Haku said, slipping his hands into his pockets. "They've still got something to prove to the world. That's what Zabuza-san wants to do, make a name for him, before he passes on the torch…"

As soon as Naruto, Haku, Kin and Little Haru arrived at the hot springs, they received a rather strange welcome from the entrance of open-air baths. Well, not really from the entrance, but right next to it. Sitting by the bamboo fence, giggling perversely, and looking through a small hole he had made in the side, was none other then Naruto's other 'beloved' mentor, Jiraiya: the Toad Sage of Mount Myobokuzan. Apparently, his teacher was back in town and engaged in his favorite, spirit lifting past-time; _researching_.

"Oooh… what a beautiful sight! Yes! Juicy, perfectly shaped, superb!" He pulled out a notebook and began jotting down notes. "This is just the kind of scene I need for my up and coming book! Icha Icha Beach Party is going to be a hit!"

Kin frowned at the sight of the pervert, while Haku and Naruto sweat-dropped. Though his other two companions have not met his old teacher before, he knew something was going to happen. He figured after all these years, Jiraiya would have at least wised up a little more, maybe even a bit more shame to go with it. Unfortunately, some old habits never die out.

"_Ugh… here it comes…"_ Naruto watched as Kin rolled up her sleeves, figuratively… due to the fact she didn't have any sleeves on her sundress, and stormed up to the old man. Assuming the position, Kin strode forward and, with a mighty yell, kicked the old man square in the nuts and sent him over the fence.

"PERVERT!" she roared, her exclamation shortly followed by a splash, and screams from the girls in the bath. Seconds later, Naruto, Haku and Kin were introduced to the sounds of fists smacking the old man around, along with kicks, shouts of 'pervert' and 'get out', and the sounds of begging from the 'Great Sage'. It was a pretty hilarious musical piece, to which Little Haru clapped and laughed to. It was made complete when the geezer was eventually thrown back over.

The group outside watched as Jiraiya's ungrateful and beaten up body crash landed in a crumpled up heap outside of the female bath, swirly eyes, animated bruises and everything. Looking up, Naruto saw Ino pop up from the other side, wrapped in a towel and shaking her fist.

"AND DON'T COME BACK!" she roared. She then spotted Naruto and his group, and her expression did a complete one-eighty. "Oh, hi Naruto-kun!"

"Hey Ino-chan! What's up?"

"Not much! Hey! You're here for a bath? Why don't you four come and join us!" Ino suggested, gesturing them in with a head nod. "It's great in here!"

"Ino… no! Don't let the guys in!" The voice of a random girl hissed up at her. The pale blonde waved back uncaringly.

"Oh, don't worry! It's fine! I mean, he's my boyfriend, and the other guy is cool… and he's with his other girlfriend, so it's fine!"

"Boyfriend?" Naruto raised an eyebrow, but Haku thumped him in the shoulder.

"Just go with it…" The blonde looked up at his teen friend oddly to see him combing back his hair with his hands and straightening up his kimono in preparation for his play-day with destiny.

"Are you sure it's alright?" Naruto asked, glancing back up at his friend.

"Sure!" Ino grinned, waving him in. "I'll just let the boss know!" She disappeared a second later, leaving Naruto, Haku and Kin scratching their heads. Kin, rejoining the blonde, grabbed his arm and began pulling him in.

"Come on, Naruto-kun! Let's share a bath!" Kin grinned, pulling the whisker marked Genin in against his own will. Albeit hesitation and a bit of a struggle, he eventually succumbed to the girl's willpower and pulled on in. Haku followed after, taking Little Haru along with him.

They left Jiraiya twitching and unconscious outside of the bath house for the next hour or so…

* * *

_**An hour or so later…**_

"Ow… it hurts…" Jiraiya groaned as leant up against a tree beside a rushing river, rubbing an icepack over his aching head, with the sound of the waterfall not too far away filling the air. Though he admitted it gave him a bigger headache, he was just relieved to be as far away from that bath house as possible. He rubbed his jaw, also taking a moment to count his teeth. "Next time… wear padding…"

His answer from the universe was a smack over his head from a nearby Ino, who was snuggling up against Naruto, with Kin on his other side. Little Haru was also accompanying the group, following after a green tree frog hopping around near the river side. She imitated it, croaking when it croaked, and hopping when it hopped. Her impression, none to say the least, was pretty good.

Recovering from his beating enough to form coherent speech, the old Sage glanced round at his student, who was relaxing back against the tree with a reed in his mouth, his two girlfriends hugging him on either side of the blonde.

"You're one lucky brat, you know that?" Jiraiya sighed, removing the icepack from his head. "I get knocked around by the ladies for hanging around outside doing my… _research_, while _**you**_ get invited in. It's an atrocity… UNACCEPTABLE!" A grin crossed his lips. "I want details! Spare nothing…"

"I don't kiss and tell, Ero-Sennin," Naruto exclaimed, grinning up at his teacher. "I'm not that kind of guy…"

"Fine, but know this…" the old man looked down his nose at the blonde, a shadow crossing his eyes. "When you're married and, Kami-forbid, I'm dead; I will haunt you and your respective girlfriends for the rest of your lives."

"Meh…" Naruto chuckled, looking away. "I'm not worried. I know you'll just be haunting the women side of the hot springs…"

Jiraiya huffed and folded his arms. "Damn you and your father's deductive ways."

"You're just easy to read, old man…"

"Where's your feminine friend, anyway?" Jiraiya asked, looking down at his sloth of a student. He including the girls resting against him, shrugged.

"Probably off with Ami and a couple of the other girls from the bathhouse. They… _**did**_ get pretty attached to him back when we were in the hot springs, they made a connection, he flirted with them… and things just… sort of carried on from there," Kin replied, nuzzling Naruto's arm. "Neh… he's not that impressive. I only have eyes for one man in my life…"

"Me too," Ino exclaimed, rubbing her cheek against Naruto's shoulder. "Ahh… Naruto-kun…"

"I envy the youth," Jiraiya said, but then raised his fist in declaration. "BUT I WILL NOT GIVE UP! TRUE LOVE AND ROMANCE IS OUT THERE FOR ME SOMEWHERE! AND WHEN IT SHOWS ITSELF, I _**SHALL**_ _SEIZE_ IT! FOR I AM… THE GREAT SAG…GAAaaooohhhh!" He punched in the nuts by Ino, the girl giving him the swift jab before returning to hug Naruto, while the old man collapsed to the ground, legs crossed and face in the mud. "OOooohhh… my rice cakes…"

"Don't be so loud… we're napping…" Ino huffed.

For a majority of the day, Naruto and the girls spent their time drifting in and out of sleep, while also discussing the coming final exams. Ino described her rigorous training sessions with her teacher and, much to her disdain, Zabuza Momochi to the blond, continuing to chastise him about living with the eyebrow less monster. Naruto also discussed his lessons with the Third Hokage and Anko, which reminded him to ask Jiraiya about training him some time in the following week… once he regains consciousness. Kin also went on to talk about her time spent with the Hokage, discussing the invasion of Konoha, not to mention her application to become a ninja of the village.

Eventually, when Jiraiya did regain consciousness, Naruto was up and ready with his question, while Ino and Kin went off to the side to play with Little Haru.

"So…" Jiraiya dusted himself down, rising to his feet. "You want me to train with you for the final stages of the exam, eh?" The man thumped his chest, smirking down at the blonde looking up at him. "Do you think you can handle the fuzz?"

"The fuzz?" Naruto queried, raising an eyebrow. "Do you have chest hair?"

"No it's my head of hair…" Jiraiya gestured to his spiky mane, but then sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Try to keep up. Anyway, do _**you**_ think…you can meet the expectations of _yours_ truly; the _Great Jiraiya of Mount Myobokuzan_?"

The blonde rolled his eyes and nodded his head.

"Are you **strong** enough, near willing enough, and have the _Gaul_ to face your worst nightmares, your greatest fears and your…"

"Oh, come on old-timer! I'm the only one here!" Naruto threw his arms out. "Look Ero-Sennin… are we gonna do this or not?"

Propping his scroll against the tree, the white haired geezer cracked his fingers and grinned down at his blonde apprentice.

"Let's rock…"

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

_**

* * *

**_

_**Author's Note:**_ For all those who don't know, the mercenary Kisarabi is a cameo character from the series of _Ninja Girls_, and the three wandering ninja she was talking to in the bar were from the Third Naruto film. Peace!

Please review…


	38. Hostage Crisis

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Hostage Crisis_

The following month for Naruto was in and out of training with Jiraiya, Anko and the Third Hokage whenever he was on a break. During which, the blonde would organize day-to-day sessions with his friends, such as training with Sakura and Hinata, taking Kin and Isaribi out for dinner, play days with Haru, taking Mia and Ino out shopping, teaching Ryoko how to cook, and seeing Anko for consultation and experience lessons. Being the energetic, sleepless person he was, he was extremely flexible with his time, even able to write letters to Katsumi to see how she was doing.

Naruto also went out with Temari a lot, really enjoying the company of the golden haired girl. He made a note to spend most of his time away from Gaara and Kankuro, since they were technically on opposing sides in these exams, and they were both training to beat him. Keeping a distance from those who were in the finals was one of Naruto's priorities. However, he was unable to shake off Team Gai as much as he wanted to, as they were currently crashing at his place and using it as their 'base camp', so to speak.

While he would sometimes watch TV with Neji, Naruto would take Tenten down to his weapons hive and show her some of his latest inventions. His innovative use of converting his gauntlet into a kunai launcher attracted the girl a lot, which led to quite a heated make-out session afterwards. Tenten really liked her weapons.

Outside of his social life, Naruto train rigorously. Jiraiya put him through the same training he went through before he made his accidental trip to Mount Myobokuzan when he attempted to summon his animal for the first time. This consisted of increasing his physical strength through repetitive taijutsu lessons, incredible chakra control, which of course overlapped with physical exercises. He had Naruto wear, not only his combat weights, but also had boulders strapped to his forearms, legs and back, and had him run in them. Furthermore, he expected the blonde to keep it up until he was able to abseil with his heavy load through the trees with little difficult, and jump long distances. The first time Naruto tried this was a tragedy under his own strength.

When it came to chakra exercises, Jiraiya stood by and watched as Naruto hiked up the vertical side of a cliff. After falling more then once and hospitalizing himself, the blonde was eventually able to do routines of twenty to thirty times before collapsing. Next to ninjutsu exercises and chakra building and control, Jiraiya also taught him a bit about genjutsu. Though both were abysmal at it, he gave Naruto a formula to create one of his own, which would help him later out in life.

Naruto became inspired by the MC Escher design of the tower in the middle of the Forest of Death that he and his friends got lost in so many times, and began working on a genjutsu around that concept.

When in breaks, Naruto, with the help of Tenten, tried creating some new weapon designs. The blonde wanted to try out some new wrist gauntlets, and Tenten helped him create something from his old design. Ammo tags filled with shuriken and senbon was his main gimmick, and they began working on a revolutionary launcher that could be hidden easily. They had heaps of fun working on it together.

It was on the last week before the final exams that Naruto and Tenten spent the most time together.

Sitting at Training Ground 4 and surrounded by their collection of scrolls and weapons, Naruto and Tenten were sharing a small desk and taking a closer look at the blonde's gauntlet under a magnifying glass. She was admiring the mechanism closely, which was relatively simple, as well as the quality of the pieces.

"Okay… let's see," Tenten said, she stood up from the chair and walked over to the scroll laid out behind them, kunai, shuriken and other throwing weapons lined up. She chose a kunai and flat blade, walking back over and pushing the magnifying glass away. Naruto then moved the new gauntlet into view, adjusted to not only fit his hidden blade on, but also his new kunai launcher, chakra cuffs, claws, nano wire and grappling hook. It was a completely new Batman concept, and they loved it so far. "This prototype should do you just fine! You won't have to remove any fingers for any of the more dangerous mechanisms to fire out from under your sleeves, and the actions are just as quick."

"Leave it to you to make me a new watch!" Naruto chuckled, the pair grinning at each other.

Tenten assembled the gauntlet like a pistol, opening the compartment under both the launcher and hidden blade. "It should be simple enough for reloading. If your hidden blade snaps, you can replace it the same way you reload your scroll cartridge. Jamming for the launcher shouldn't be a problem either, just pull back on the slider."

Tenten picked up the new weapon and cuffed it around her hand. She walked over to the firing range, where they had set up a few targets by the three logs in the middle of the field, just waiting to be used. Taking aim with her right arm, Tenten pulled the trigger and, with a loud bang echoing out like a crack of thunder, the kunai was launched at a high velocity through the air at the targets. The projectile hit the dummy square in the chest, with the girl smirking and lifting her firing arm back up, satisfied.

"May need to adjust the sights and elevation by five degrees," Tenten said. She was about to bring it back to the table, but spun back around and consecutively fired off ten more rounds, each of them hitting the three dummies, puncturing them, and tearing them to shreds. The brown haired girl blew on the barrel and turned back to Naruto, who was grinning in delight. "That's the stuff… you sure have an awesome concept here…"

"If you want, you can have it. I can easily make a second one," Naruto said, picking up his old gauntlet. His kunai launcher only fired single shots so far and just had the hidden blade with a secret scroll and soldier-pill compartment. He could make do with it until he replaced it with a final version of their new prototype. "Consider it a 'thanks'…"

"N-Naruto… I can't take this," Tenten whispered, walking over to him while caressing the gauntlet on her wrist. "It was originally your design, so it's only sensible that you should have it…"

"I've been meaning to give you a present like that for some time. An item with so much work put into it is definitely worth giving to someone else," Naruto added to this by then pulling out something from behind his back. Tenten nearly jumped when she saw it, not noticing it before now. The blonde walked up to her and held out a staff weapon to her with a chain and scythe blade at the end. He grinned at her. "I… also… had something else I wanted to give to you. I noticed earlier that you were really adept at using long-range and chained weapons, so I figured a Kusarigama I designed myself would be a great present for you."

He handed it to Tenten, who took it and looked down at it in admiration. The long staff was engraved with all sorts of wonderful patterns, with her name inscribed in the middle. The gauze handles and the way it all just came together in black and gold was spectacular. Smiling, she looked up at Naruto, eyes twinkling with delight.

"Naruto-kun…"

"For the first time ever…" the blonde replied, smiling a half-smile. "I actually knew what to get someone as a present. For Jiraiya I got him a tie and Baa-chan some socks… which… was kind of a _disappointment_, even for me…"

Tenten giggled and, dropping the weapon, she leapt at Naruto and hugged him tightly, giving him a deep kiss. The blonde nearly fell back into the table if it wasn't for his newly acquired balance, and he returned the kiss enthusiastically. After a minute or so in embrace, Tenten pulled away with tears stringing her eyes.

"You are too kind, Naruto-kun," Tenten exclaimed. Naruto grinned back at her.

"I try my best…"

After packing away all their materials for the day, Naruto escorted Tenten back home. It was a long way across Konoha, but they made every second count as they strolled through the neighborhoods, poking fun at Asuma and Kurenai when they passed them, and even walking passed Sasuke on one of his mid-day broods. Eventually, the two of them were striding up the footpath to Naruto's estate.

"How do you think you will go in the exams, Naruto?" Tenten asked, looking at the young teen thoughtfully. "I mean… you're fighting the strongest guy right off the list. That's gotta be tough…"

"I've been training for it, so don't worry," Naruto smiled back at her. "I'm pretty confident in my abilities now, getting lessons from Ero-Sennin and Anko-sensei has really helped me out."

"You look stronger," Tenten commented, looking him up and down. The fact that he was wearing a black, long-sleeve, tight t-shirt, a red vest and blue pants, showed off quite a bit of his build. He had a nice posture, his shoulders were a bit thicker then she remembered, and he looks to have grown a centimeter. "Man, you must have a really healthy lifestyle."

"I'm pestered by Lee and your sensei to get into the 'springtime of youth', as they so passionately call it, twenty-hours a day, so it's no surprise I'm in such unusually good shape. To some people, I just seem to make random jumps in my condition every time I meet up with one of my old teachers, I go out for one of my nightly errands, or I just rest for the whole day," Naruto informed, emphasizing this fact through use of hand gestures. "Plus, I'm living with Sakura and Hinata now, perhaps two of the best kunoichi with medical talents in this village."

"I should probably get some lessons from Sakura… get some first-aid techniques in with my combat skills," Tenten shrugged, putting her hands behind her head as Naruto had his hands in his pockets. "Could be useful?"

"What are your dreams and ambitions for the future anyway?" Naruto asked curiously, glancing over at the girl. "You… never really mentioned what you would like to accomplish in your future…"

"Well, since you're asking," Tenten smiled at him. "I want to become a strong kunoichi like Tsunade-sama! I've looked up to her ever since I was little. She is my idol…"

"Oh wow. That's a pretty good goal to be striving towards," Naruto replied, looking ahead of him again and up the road towards his house now coming into view.

"What about you, Naruto-kun?"

"Me?" The boy shrugged. "Well… I want to grow up into a powerful shinobi, like Ero-Sennin, my dad or even my mum. I've got a whole bunch of people I look up to, because they've helped me throughout my entire life…"

He unexpectedly stopped walking, and stared up at his estate, pulling his hands out of his pockets. Tenten looked at him oddly, and then looked back towards the building they were heading back to. They stood there for the next few seconds, looking at the building, with the member of Team Gai looking at the blonde in confusion.

"What is it…?"

"Something is wrong…" Naruto furrowed his brow.

Without another word, he sprinted forward, rushing up to his home with Tenten hot on his tail. It only took them under a minute to reach the main building, and after dashing up the stairs, the blonde burst through the door, kunai at the ready. Tenten was at his side seconds later, scythe drawn.

As soon as they burst in, the pair of Genin was shocked to find the entire lounge and interior of the building in ruin. It wasn't like the time Naruto came home and found his kitchen on fire and the rest of the place in shambles after one of Zabuza and Anko's huge parties, this state was different. It was as if a hurricane had just blown right in and made itself at home, before leaving without a trace. The lounge room was a wreck; curtains torn up, wallpaper ripped away, the wood work burnt and chipped, and all his furniture was over turned and destroyed. Furthermore, there were splashes of blood everywhere, with the sights of bodies littering the place. The unconscious forms of Neji and Lee were deposited in the room, beaten badly, cut up and bleeding, both of them lying around the couch area in front of the destroyed television. Kin was also lying unconscious several meters away near the staircase, along with Isaribi and Anko.

Horror struck, Naruto rushed over to check on his friends, while Tenten ran over to her teammates.

Relieved that Kin was still alive; he helped her into his lap, caressing her head in his hand. The girl, reacting to his touch, slowly opened her eyes and looked up, to see her savior standing over her.

"Kin! Thank Kami… you're okay. What happened?" Naruto asked, sweating nervously.

"Naruto-kun…" Kin groaned and tried to get up, but found she was unable to. However, as long as she was still alive, there was at least one thing she could still do, and that was warning him. "R-Run…"

"Huh?" Naruto looked up, seeing Anko struggling to her feet as well, blood dripping from her mouth and kunai impaled in her back. She glared up at the boy, eyes wide.

"RUN! GET OUT OF HERE!" his teacher shouted.

All of a sudden, there was a loud whoosh and a gust of wind, Naruto leaping back with Kin in his arms. Jumping away, he avoided a blur and the sight of an unknown assault suddenly appearing out of thin air and lashing where he was standing seconds before with a clawed hand. The masked assassin disappeared into thin air again, just as Naruto landed.

As soon as he did, he looked over at Tenten to see her looking up in surprise as well, while cradling Lee in her arms.

"TENTEN! EYES OPEN! WE'RE NOT ALONE!" he shouted.

Tenten nodded and, taking lee, dragged him to where Neji was, and rested his head on a pillow. The Hyuuga was conscious at this point, and struggling to get up.

"Neji! What happened here?" Tenten asked, helping the boy sit up against the overturned and torn up couch. The boy, huffing in agony, gripped his cracked ribs and looked up at his teammate, blood dripping over his eyes.

"T-They were so _fast_…" Neji wheezed, looking around them. "M-masked ninja… powerful ones … t-they came out of the basement… and started ripping the place apart…"

Tenten looked up at Naruto, seeing him looking around wildly. Cautiously, the blonde moved around the room to where Anko was and dragged her to her feet and over to Isaribi. The girl was knocked out but not that badly damaged. He helped her over to the stairs and, making sure both she and her teacher were comfortable, returned his eyes back to the lounge room.

"Didn't you hear me brat? Run!" Anko coughed out.

"Not until I find out exactly who is responsible for this!" Naruto hissed, getting to his feet. He flicked his wrist and his hidden blade shot out, and he looked around the room. "SHOW YOURSELF!"

Suddenly, the sound of rushing wind again caught his attention, along with a strange chiming. The blonde wheeled around and glared at the empty airspace, next to the entrance leading down one of his many hallways. There, he saw a shadowy figure appear, and then disappear, then reappear, this time closer. The silhouette of the person vanished again, with Naruto furrowing his brow.

"_Flash step… one of my dad's techniques… but much more primitive…"_ Focusing his glare, Naruto glanced to his left, seeing the figure appear, then reappear.

A second later, Naruto heard the figure approaching again, thanks to the sound of rushing wind. Gritting his teeth, the blonde lunged forward and thrust his right arm out, connecting with the head of the fast moving target. The punch effectively clothes-lined the mid-running individual and knocked him flat out. The body flipped through the air and crash landed face first behind Naruto, the blonde looking down at it after withdrawing his fist. Seeing it trying to get up, the Genin dropped a knee on its back, pinning it, then thrust his hidden blade into the back of its neck, impaling and killing the assailant.

"What is it?" Tenten asked, rushing over to the blonde.

Naruto rolled the body over and stood up. He saw that the adult wore a black shinobi shōzoku, the most common form of ninja kimono, with split toe sandals, gauze and face mask. However, there were modifications to it. The assailant wore grey, plastic ANBU armor all over its body, including shin guards, arm braces, chest and torso armor, back armor, and shoulder plates. The gloves worn by the person had five inch, long steel claws protruding from the fingertips dripping with paralysis poison. The person also wore a white porcelain mask with a snake on it and a breathing apparatus similar to what Amegakure shinobi wear.

The markings on the mask designated it to be a _Sound_ shinobi.

"Sound Ninja…" Naruto growled, gritting his teeth.

"I know… what they are…" Kin rasped, Naruto and Tenten looking over at the girl lying against the wall alongside Isaribi. Struggling to look up, the girl focused all her attention on the blonde. "T-They are… Orochimaru's failed experiments… turned into ruthless killing machines called _Cobras_. H-He enhanced and modified their bodies… with a level one _Cursed Seal_ mark… and gave them stolen jutsu to make them… more dangerous. They have no conscious… no free will of their own. They're just drones… expendable soldiers…"

"Well, for failed experiments, they're incredibly fast," Naruto said, glaring down at the body.

"T-They overwhelmed us," Anko hissed getting to her feet and gripping her stomach. "They blasted their way in through the basement… from the emergency tunnels of Konohagakure. We didn't even realize… they had entered the perimeter… till they reached _this_ floor. There were more then five dozen of them… they just stormed the place."

"What did they want?" Naruto asked.

"I… I don't know…" Anko huffed, gritting her teeth. "But they… disappeared… when they couldn't find… what they were looking for… and ran off into the village…"

"Damn it!" Naruto growled, kicking the body angrily. "They're obviously here for something… or somebody… fuck…"

"Naruto…" Tenten grabbed the boy by the shoulder and shook him. When he looked at her, she gestured him towards the corridor, and he turned. He was shocked when he saw Zabuza leaning against the wall, covered in blood and gravely wounded.

Panting, the large swordsman staggered over, clutching his left arm or… what looked like his left arm. His limb had been broken in several places and was hanging limply at his side, wrapped up in the gauze used for his mask. His right leg was also screwed up, holes puncturing his thigh. Slouching over, he collapsed to his knees, kunai and shuriken seen lodged in his back, as if he was used for target practice not too long ago. Naruto quickly ran over, and steadied the man before he could fall.

"Kami, Zabuza…" Naruto checked the man's wounds, and aside from his dangling left arm, he was okay everywhere else. "Holy shit… what the hell happened to you?"

"You fucking… missed it… by that much…" Zabuza choked out, glaring up at the boy, his right eye clenched shut. He had a huge gash right across the right side of his face, his eye effectively blinded and gone. "S-Sound Ninja… I killed twenty five of them… b-but… one of the enemy… got me… one-on-one…"

"Who?" Naruto asked, with Tenten rushing around and grabbing whatever material she could find. Running over, she used the padding from the seat cushions and the curtains as gauze, and helped bandage up Zabuza's eye and arm.

The man hissed at the pain, but bit it back and looked up at his friend. "A woman… white hair… big boobs… you may have met her before…" Zabuza panted out. "She carried a rifle on her back… a Western Weapon… and has a Byakugan in her right eye…"

Naruto's eyes widened when he realized who it was and looked up in shock. He collapsed to the floor, with Tenten looking at him with great concern.

"Kisarabi…"

"Who is it?" Anko asked, looking over at the blonde. "Who is the bitch?"

"Kisarabi: a bounty hunter from the East, a ruthless and coldblooded mercenary whose only loyalty is to money and the highest bidder. She's hardnosed… relentless… and extremely dangerous, considering the fact that she can kill you from six-hundred meters away and no one would even know she was there. That woman is the one responsible for killing the Fuma Clan's leader and leaving the rest of them to rot for the next few years… she's that cold…"

"What do you think she is after then?" Tenten asked.

"I fought her head-to-head," Zabuza coughed, looking at the blonde weakly. "I managed to… wound her badly, but she was still able to… take me down when she managed to get behind me. She took my sword too…"

Naruto looked at the dead Sound Ninja, then around his home. Judging from the extent of the damage, they were here briefly, and had searched every single room to. After some quick thinking, he stood up and looked over at Neji and Lee, both of them regaining their bearings.

"It was a breach and clear raid… they didn't kill you guys, and focused more attention on the rooms," Naruto looked around, scratching his chin. "If they're Sound Ninjas working for Orochimaru, then they must be after someone he wants for his experiments. Someone…" His eyes widened when a figure popped into his head and he wheeled around to Anko. "WHERE'S HARU!"

* * *

_**The Hokage's Office…**_

"Who's that?" Little Haru jumped up, pointing at one of the photos of the Four Hokage of Konohagakure. Hiruzen Sarutobi was babysitting the young Rinnegan girl today, along with Ino, Haku and, rather begrudgingly, Sasuke, all of them sitting around the office and showing the little girl the place, while taking a break from her boundless energy displayed so far today. She was currently bobbing up and down on the couch, looking up at the pictures of the four most distinguished ninja to ever grace the Hidden Leaf, and tiring the group with her laughter and curiosity.

"That would be Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage of the _Village Hidden in the Leaf_ and one of its founding fathers. Out of all the Hokages, he was one of the most important and most powerful ninja in all of Konoha's history, and paved the future for our great village," Hiruzen exclaimed, huffing on his pipe. "I greatly admire the man, since he was the only ninja to ever defeat Madara Uchiha and the Nine Tailed Fox simultaneously, and for the first time in history, establish true peace between the other Hidden Villages…"

"Oh! Wow!" Little Haru exclaimed, before pointing at the second photo. "Who's that? Who's that?"

As the Third Hokage went on pointing out and explaining the rest of the Kages to Little Haru, Ino, growing a bit tired of waiting, sighed and looked over at Sasuke, the boy resting in one of the chairs and chewing on a toothpick. Haku was sitting in the chair across from the Uchiha, almost napping, yet still maintaining consciousness.

"How long do you think Naruto will be out?" Ino asked. "He has to be back sometime…"

"Don't know…" Sasuke groaned, putting his hands behind his head. "The dobe always goes off somewhere, and nobody knows where. It's best just to leave him alone…"

Ino frowned. "He's always gone off somewhere. Ugh…"

"Don't worry; I'm sure he's around. He'll probably stop by to see the Hokage some time today," Haku yawned, covering his mouth his hand. "He said he had a bit more training to do before coming by to pick up Little Haru…"

"Why not just send her to the academy?" Sasuke asked, looking over at the girl, whom the Third helped up onto his shoulders and showed her the picture of the Forth Hokage and himself when he was younger. "She's strong enough to start a career as a ninja, and she sure is strong enough…"

"Naruto feels he should wait a bit longer till he starts training her to become a shinobi of this village," Ino smiled and watched as Little Haru played with the old man's hat, giggling happily and trying the wide brimmed Kage crown on. "He's such a caring young man. I'm sure Naruto will make a great dad one day…"

Just as Sasuke snorted at the girl's statement, the door to the Hokage's office suddenly burst open, causing everyone inside to jump, except the Hokage. With Little Haru still on his shoulders with his hat worn lop-sided on her head, he turned towards the door, as did the two Genin and the Chunin accompanying him in the room.

Much to everybody's surprise, they watched as one of the Hokage's well trained bodyguard ANBU, standing guard over the door, slouched on in, before collapsing face first to the floor with several bullet holes in his chest and twelve kunai lodged in his back. As soon as the ANBU kissed the ground with his face, a white haired woman, accompanied by six _Cobra Sound Ninja_, strolled on in, her own honor guard slouching as they shoved their way through the one entrance.

The white haired woman walked past the body, ignoring it, and removed her hat, her squad fanning out around the room and surrounding the Konoha Ninja in a semi-circle, with their boss in the center. Just as the occupants in the room assumed defensive stances, the Third Hokage became alert to another intruder and turned towards his windows, seeing four more of the masked Sound Ninja appear out of thin air, and perch themselves on his window sills. The mindless drones hissed and clicked unidentifiable words, their clawed fingers stretching and tapping against anything they could grab, effectively scratching the oak woodwork of their posts.

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at the one eyeing him dangerously, and frowned as he saw it scratching the window boxing it in. "Be careful, that's vintage red oak from a hundred years back. The First Hokage made these window sills himself…"

The Cobra Sound Ninja hissed back in response.

Looking back towards the front entrance the woman and her guard strolled in through, he also saw four more ninja walk in. He immediately recognized them as the Sound Four from the wanted posters displayed next to Orochimaru's poster, all of them spreading out around the room's only exit, making sure that no one got in or out.

"Fuck me!" Tayuya flicked her sandal of the blood staining her toes. "The bitch sure does messy work…"

"You should give her some credit for working fast too, especially with _**that**_ injury," Kidomaru exclaimed, folding his four arms at once. "Able to take down Zabuza Momochi so readily… not even we could do that…"

"I don't even see the point of us being here," Jirobo grumbled, also folding his arms. His size meant that he was barely able to fit through the doorway. "She can pretty much handle herself…"

"Shut it, lardo," Sakon snapped, looking towards the old man he immediately recognized as the Third Hokage. "We're here for _**this**_ very reason… and that's all…"

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?" Jirobo roared, attempting to sock the boy for suggesting his rather obvious weight problem, but was stopped when he spotted the white haired woman glaring at him over her shoulder. The cold stare she was giving him, and the sharpness of her glare promised trouble if Jirobo carried out his action. It literally made him tremble at the sight of her.

"Jirobo, silence yourself," Kisarabi hissed. The largest of Orochimaru's elite guard shut his mouth up immediately and, after gulping nervously, backed up back into formation. Sighing, the woman smiled over at the Third Hokage and bowed to him, quite honored to be in the man's presence. "Hiruzen Sarutobi I presume; Third Hokage of the _Village Hidden in the Leaves_, also formerly known as the _**God of Shinobi**_ and _**the Professor**_, master of all forms of ninja techniques in Konohagakure. It is truly an honor…"

Hiruzen looked the woman up and down. Aside from the huge Executioner's Blade she carried on her back, the bandages wrapped around her right leg covering the huge gash she sustained in her previous fight, and that her right arm was also in a sling and bandaged up meant little to him. What he was more interested in and paid considerable attention to was the face of the woman in front of him, as well as her reasonably sized knockers hanging right there. Shaking off the blush, his glare turned into his characteristic smile, and he turned to face her fully, hands being placed behind him.

"And you are Kisarabi I am guessing, the right-hand figure of all known criminal organizations, the best bounty hunter in all of the _Five Great Shinobi Nations_, and the assassin responsible for the fall of the Fuma Clan and the death of Hanzo Hattori, one of the greatest shinobi in all of ninja history. This is quite a surprise…" the Third exclaimed, looking around at her lackeys as she reassumed a proper standing position and slipped her hat back onto her head. "I believe you are under the employ of my former student Orochimaru at the moment, judging from your company…"

"It's a shame that we could not meet on friendlier terms, Lord Hokage," Kisarabi exclaimed, smirking up at the old man. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a cigarette, popped it into her mouth and with a sleight of hand movement, drew her lighter out of nowhere, cracked it open and lit her stick. Inhaling sharply, she pocketed her lighter and grinned up at the old man, spotting her target sitting on his shoulders. "I see you've taken up another job, other then leading the _Hidden Leaf Village_ in this time of crisis. Baby sitting?"

"Temporarily," the Third replied, smiling. "It's for a… friend…"

"Well… it has unfortunately been brought to my attention that you are in possession of another person's property. The child's family has been looking for her for some time, and I have come to retrieve her," Kisarabi informed, holding her only good arm out to the old man, clearly gesturing to the raven haired little girl on his shoulders. "I'm afraid that that girl has to come with me…"

Hiruzen frowned.

It was at these words that Haku, Ino and Sasuke leapt forward to the village leader and Little Haru's defense, all of them with kunai drawn, and best fighting glares fixed on the woman. Kisarabi frowned as well, the Sound Four immediately jumping in front of her and coming to her defense, all of them glaring back at the two Genin and the Chunin standing in her way.

As the forward guard assumed their defensive position, the squad of a dozen Sound Ninja drones took up stances as well, hissing loudly and claws clicking, the soldiers threatening to pounce at any moment.

The white haired woman removed the cigarette from her mouth and blew out a small cloud of smoke, remaining calm and collected in the face of this situation. Popping it back into her mouth, she reached into her left holster and drew what was recognized in the Western countries as a Mauser C96 semi-automatic pistol with extended barrel and magazine, a very dangerous weapon for its time. Cracking the slider back, she took aim at the old man and glared up at him from under her hat.

"You are in no position to argue, old man," she stated, tilting her head to the side. "I doubt even you can dodge a projectile moving faster then the speed of sound at this distance…"

"I may be old, but I've still got some moves," the Third replied.

"Not even you, the Third Hokage, can possibly take down an entire squad of elite Sound Ninja, Orochimaru's body guards the _Sound Four_, and me at the same time," Kisarabi stated, adjusting her grip on her pistol. "You and three brats… don't stand a chance…"

Hiruzen smirked. "No?" All of a sudden, the four Sound Ninja drones at the windows were thrown forward simultaneously when four Konoha ninja burst in through the unorthodox entrances all at once, kicking the enemy nin to the floor and landing on top of them, killing them respectively. Wheeling around, Ino, Sasuke, Haku and Little Haru glanced down to see Naruto on top of one of the assassin drones with his hidden blade driven into the back of its head, smirking up at them. He had also brought along backup; Sakura, Hinata and Ryoko joining him, the three of them crouched on top of _their _targets, the drones' throats slit.

Kisarabi frowned at the sight and glanced behind her, suddenly seeing two more Konoha Ninja come to stand at the entrance main. She easily recognized them to be Kakashi and Gai, both of them coming to the aid of the Hokage and standing at the doorway with their arms crossed like bouncers. At the same time, the roof above Hiruzen caved in, and all of a sudden, two more ANBU dropped down from above and landed on either side of their Hokage. Standing up with their tanto blades drawn, the pair of elite ninja focused their attention on the intruders. The Third Hokage easily recognized them to be Yamato and Yaguo, two of his most trusted Black Ops shinobi, obviously called in when they heard what had happened from Naruto.

Looking around, Kisarabi looked in front of her again to see the other four reinforcements behind Sarutobi rise to their feet and walk around, all of them fixating their best glares on her. She began recalculating her odds of success here, and found it to be pretty slim with the best of the best of Konoha now surrounding her. With Kakashi and Gai at her back, and the two ANBU up front, she knew that in her condition, and even with the Sound Four, she was no match. Naruto, finally able to get a good look at the woman responsible for destroying his house, furrowed his brow at her.

"Kisarabi… it's been a while…" he growled, the woman turning to him to see him step out from behind the desk and into full view. "The last time I saw you, it was back in Kusogakure, hunting down Nanashi, the rogue samurai from the _Land of Iron_…"

The woman glared at him, trying to reacquaint herself with the face that was addressing her. After a moment or so, she smirked, chuckled, and raised her head a little bit, unveiling more of her face from under the brim of her hat.

"_Nightwalker-kun…_ it _**has**_ been a while," Kisarabi exclaimed, giving him a half grin. "A year or so ago, am I right? And if I recall… we _both_ brought that guy down together and split the bounty…"

"Man… private entrepreneurs such as us can't help staying apart for long, eh?" Naruto commented, shaking his head and smirking. "Oh… and by the way, I was able to capitalize on Kabuto's death. Man, that guy just didn't want to die, but guess what…" He threw his arms out. "First place! I beat you to him…"

The Sound Four looked at the blonde in shock, realization snapping to them that they were staring at the very kid who beat Kabuto. Kisarabi was also caught by surprise at this information, but then, shortly after her reaction, a grin crossed her lips and she started laughing again, her gun shaking in her grip as she stared at the kid.

"So it _**was**_ you!" Kisarabi exclaimed, earning odd looks from the Sound Four. "Man, honestly I shouldn't be this surprised but… wow…" She smirked at him. "Congratulations _Nightwalker-kun._ Let me buy you a drink next time…"

"Yeah, next time…" Naruto smirked back. However, that smirk quickly fell away, and was replaced by a death glare. "You've got a lot of nerve breaking into my house and trying to kidnap my little sister, you know. Though I understand you're just doing your job Kisarabi, the one thing I cannot tolerate is _you_ hurting my friends and family…"

Kisarabi raised an eyebrow. "Your little sister, is she?" She glanced over at the girl still riding the Third Hokage's shoulders. "My… isn't _that_ interesting…"

Ryoko snarled at her. "You attacked our friends and fucked up Zabuza's arm you bitch!" the red head snapped, stepping forward and reaching for her sword. "I ought to slice you up for that…"

Haku wheeled around, looking at Naruto in worry. "Zabuza-sama…!"

"He's fine, Haku," Naruto whispered, nodding back towards Kisarabi and her goon squad standing in front of her. "I think my friend wants his _sword_ back…"

The white haired woman grinned, exhaling on her cigarette. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you there, _Nightwalker-kun_. You see, Kirigakure is paying over twenty-million ryu to the person who brings back Zabuza Momochi's head or sword. I think I'm going to have to settle for his prized weapon for now…" she replied, looking around at the guards now surrounding the Third Hokage. "Seeing as that I am unable to _fully_ accomplish my mission today, perhaps we can complete this dance another time…"

Hiruzen raised his hand, his shinobi surrounding him taking readier stances. "I'm afraid I cannot allow you to leave, Kisarabi," the Third declared. "You are a Double S-Rank criminal, charged with the murder of several feudal Lords and an entire royal family. I cannot allow you to just stroll out of here…"

"I don't have to," Kisarabi grinned. "I'll happily make my _own_ exit…"

Swiftly, before anybody could react, she spun around and threw her left arm towards Kakashi and Gai. In the blink of an eye, gushing flames roared out of her gauntlet, spraying the entire entrance of the Third Hokage's office. The two Jonin leapt back in surprise, avoiding the bellowing flames that spewed out of her weapon and coated the entire wall and entrance. The next thing anyone knew, she spun back around and tossed a cluster of smoke bombs to the ground, clouding up the entire office in purple smoke.

Everybody attacked all at once, chaos ensuing in the office. The Sound drones lunged at the Third Hokage, but the ANBU guards and the Genin ready met the half way. Inside the blinding dark cloud, Kisarabi rushed forward and leapt over the onslaught. As she abseiled through the air, she swiped out at Haru with her left hand, a scalpel blade shooting out of her finger. She sliced the little girl across the arm, drawing a syringe worth of blood from her as she flew over the battle, and straight out the window. The Sound Four followed suit, charging through the crowd and leaping through the four separate windows, leaving the clouded office behind, as well as the remainder of their drone forces to deal with the Konoha shinobi.

By the time the chaos was over, the Third Hokage's office was a mess, with the over half-a-dozen Sound Nin lying dead and Little Haru clutching her cut arm, sobbing quietly. Sakura immediately got to work healing the little girl's arm, taking her off of Hiruzen's shoulders, and setting her down. She was quickly flanked by the people she called family, Hinata hugging her comfortingly, and Naruto cradling the two of them. In the meantime, the ANBU and Jonin occupying the space around the office approached the Hokage, awaiting instructions.

Slipping his hat back on his head, the Third pointed out the windows.

"ALERT THE BORDER GUARDS AND INTERCEPT THEM! DO NOT LET THEM ESCAPE!"

Nodding, Kakashi, Gai, Ryoko, Yamato and Yaguo took off, leaving the Third in his office with the Genin and Chunin. A few seconds later, more ANBU showed up, including the Chunin staff from the floor below who had heard the commotion. When they arrived, they secured the area, and began cleaning up the place. The Third Hokage looked down at Naruto and his friends, the blonde cradling a still sobbing Haru, who was clutching her big brother and crying into his shoulder. Sakura was bandaging up her arm, with Hinata now looking down at them with great concern. Ino joined them shortly afterwards, with Haku also standing by with Sasuke, who was cleaning off his kunai from the two Sound Nin he had brought down, Sharingan fading.

Hiruzen nodded down at Naruto when he looked up at the old man. "I'll have ANBU and a clean up crew wrap up any loose ends at your property. I'll make sure the place is fixed up, the tunnels filled in, and your friends sent to the hospital…"

"Thanks, ojii-sama," Naruto replied, smiling up at him. "I'm so glad you're around, you know…"

Hiruzen smiled down at him, at the same time Haku immediately vacated the vicinity to go check on Zabuza. However, the Third Hokage wasn't entirely settled on this issue, and looked up towards the windows with a look of deep concern etched on his face.

"_These times are getting extremely dangerous. But I swear, as Hokage of this village, I will protect it at all costs!"_

_

* * *

_

_**A few hours later…**_

Kisarabi and the Sound Four had managed to get out of Konohagakure relatively unscathed, having evaded the onslaughts of Chunin, Jonin and ANBU sent after them, and throwing them off along the way. They made it to the rallying point far outside of the village's defensive perimeter, where their Sound allies were waiting. Walking into the camp, the _breach-and-clear_ team marched towards a cave beyond the encampment of attack forces assembled and readying itself for its attack on Konoha, Chunin and Jonin shinobi alike, scattered around the tents.

Pushing her way through the guards outside the cave entrance, the woman and Orochimaru's elite bodyguards entered the presence of their master and commander himself, upon entering the temporary headquarters.

The Sound Four knelt to the ground and bowed, while Kisarabi marched up to Orochimaru, Yoroi, Guren and Misumi, the four of them standing around the war table. The white haired woman stopped at Orochimaru's side, unshaken by his presence or proximity at all, and looked down at the maps before her. She could see the full layout of the village itself, and the directions from which his forces and the Suna forces were going to attack.

The pale Sannin smirked when he felt his best mercenary return, and without even looking in her direction, spoke to her.

"I see you've _failed_ to bring the girl I asked for…"

"Not exactly…" the woman replied calmly, holding up a vial of blood to him. Orochimaru looked at it, analyzing the sediment of blood at the bottom of the glass tube. "I believe this sample will come in handy with your chimera experiments. Since you pretty much… _grow_ everything fresh at your place… you can make as many little Harus as your perverted heart desires…"

Smirking, the Snake Sannin took the vial, and gestured to Misumi with a sharp head nod. The man walked forward with a brief case in hand, and opened it up in front of Kisarabi. Looking down, the bounty hunter saw that it was filled with ryu, her payment as per requested, a sight that literally had her eyes lit up. Smiling, she closed the case herself and took it from the man's grip, tipping her hat to Orochimaru and his subordinates.

"Our business here is concluded…" Without another word, the young mercenary turned heel, and left the cave, passing in between the still kneeling Sound Four, and leaving Orochimaru to his blood sample and his game.

As soon as she was gone, Guren snorted and looked towards the Sannin, Yoroi and Misumi also smirking.

"She's not a total loss, after all…" the woman sneered.

"She certainly is not," Orochimaru hissed, licking her lips. "I never expected her to accomplish this mission, but I trusted she would pull through some how. That's what I like about Kisarabi… she's _resourceful_." He held his prize up to the light. "With this… I can grow myself a new pair of eyes… eyes unclouded… and with them, I can see everything in this world, and the next…"

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

_**

* * *

**_

Author's Note:

Kisarabi (from Ninja Girls), originally used firearms in the story to bring down her opponents at long distance, which was pretty cool. Ninja in fuedal Japan were also known to use firearms, but even so, ninja who use rifles and pistols were extremely rare, which is why I decided to introduce a rogue shinobi bounty hunter with this attribute. Kisarabi had a Rasengan technique of her own as well, which is what attracted me into introducing her as cameo in the first place. I tweeked her up a little and gave her a real characteristic bounty hunter flare (sort of like Jango Fett, but much more daring). Because she is so good at what she does, she's not afraid of anyone. Of course, she does have her own small moral code she follows, which is pretty low.

Also, if you hadn't already noticed, Orochimaru now has new plans for the future, which concerns all of the Rookie Nine. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	39. The Final Test part 1

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_The Final Test part 1_

The incident following the break in at Naruto's estate had everybody on their toes. Security tightened significantly, especially on the day of the third and final part of the Chunin Exams. The Third Hokage moved a majority of his ANBU to monitor the arena for the big day, as well as station all of his available in-village Jonin and Chunin around the entirety of Konohagakure's perimeter. As much as Konoha's leader felt that he should cancel the event and focus more attention on the impending attack, he also felt that he had to settle business once and for all, particularly with Orochimaru. Since the Chunin Exams were a great tradition in the Hidden Leaf, he just couldn't bring himself to stop it.

Hiruzen also had great faith in his shinobi, and when the time of the attack came, his forces would be ready.

He learned all he could from Kin and Temari, the two of them also attending the exams, sitting comfortably in the stands in the front rows. Those Genin who could also make it to the event, including Tenten, Lee, Choji and Shikamaru, sat up at the front as well, while their Jonin senseis hung back, keeping an eye on things, and also eager to see how the fights would turn out. All the training their students had thrown in the past month was all for this, and they were just hoping it wasn't all for naught. The only Jonin who didn't seem to be on edge was Anko, her face covered in bandages and her mouth full of dango. As nerve rattled as she was about the attack that had taken place about a week ago, she had been able to sleep soundly knowing that the assailants were driven off, and were unsuccessful in acquiring their target.

Just to be safe though, Naruto and the others left Haru in the care of Mia, who had taken the little brave tiger on a shopping spree. Since Mia had been out most of that day at the hot springs and chatting it up with the locals, she wasn't there when the attack on his house occurred, and she was incredibly surprised when she came home and found the whole place torn to pieces.

Today, Naruto gave her and Little Haru free reign on one of his many accounts, and gave them permission to run wild around town.

Zabuza was hospitalized for his injuries, with Haku deciding to hang around by his master's side, unable to attend the exams. The man cursed all day when Naruto and his friends popped in to visit him, disappointed that he was unable to lie on his front, which also meant he wasn't able to masturbate; much to the chagrin of Sakura, who gave him a punch to the back of his head as her 'get well' present. He shut his mouth after that.

As the crowds flocked to their seats, including the many distinguished Lords and diplomats attending the proceedings, the Genin that made it to the finals assembled in the arena below. Lee was the very first to arrive with Gai, both of them giving their victory peace sign to the people already present, before his teacher retreated to the stands, wishing the boy the best.

Kankuro and Gaara were next to arrive, accompanied by their team leader Baki. The Jonin quickly reminded them of their plans, before he too disappeared to the stands. However, the two Sand Siblings had no intention with following through with their Kazekage's attack plans, but kept this fact to themselves. Kiba and Ino shortly arrived next, and were then followed in by Miki and Takagura a few minutes later, the hooded Kiri Genin standing away from the rest of the competition and instead, took to glaring up at the stands.

Surprisingly enough, their Jonin teacher wasn't anywhere to be seen, which caught Anko's attention.

"Keep an eye out for the big Kiri Jonin," Anko whispered, nudging Kakashi in the shoulder hard. The silver haired man looked down at Team 7's leader. "I have no idea what _**he**_ really has in store, but stay on guard…"

Kakashi nodded, and passed on the message to Asuma, who then passed it on to Kurenai in kind. As the murmuring in the crowd grew steadily more in volume, the Genin of Team 7 finally arrived, escorted by Jiraiya himself. The white haired man made sure to pass them on to Ryoko before he left; the red haired woman standing in the middle of the field with her arms folded, and making sure that all of the participants were present and everything was in order. She nodded to the Sannin as she took them off his hands.

"You know what's happening, don't you?" Ryoko asked the old pervert, who smirked and nodded back.

"That my old teammate is in town, yeah," he murmured, Naruto, Sakura and Hinata forming a line in front of Ryoko. The other Genin, seeing them arrive, joined them, and also formed up before the ever growing crowd.

The sight of the hundreds of people in attendance had the Genin straighten up respectively, displaying great pride at being there, and also not wanting to appear weak before the spectators. Jiraiya turned to the stands above as well, spotting his old teacher sitting up on the balcony high above, plain in sight. "I'm not exactly sure how the old man plans to go through with this, but I'm making sure I'm right next to him when this whole thing decides to go south…"

Ryoko nodded to him and also looked up towards the Third Hokage. "I also heard Hikita is in town too…"

"Your old teammate?"

"Tsk… he was never our teammate…"

"Will you be alright down here?" Jiraiya asked, smiling curiously at the woman. The red head nodded, but instead directed her smirk up towards the crowds. "I mean, can you handle the pressure?"

"Please… I once fought a bunch of Iwa Nin who tried to jump me in the hot springs, and I was butt naked throughout the whole incident," Ryoko laughed. The old mountain sage looked the woman, dressed in her tightly worn Konoha Jonin uniform, up and down once to get a complete picture, and as a result, developed a small nosebleed. "I'm used to _**any**_ kind of pressure…"

"Good to know," Jiraiya shoved his fingers up his nose to stop the flow. After which, he turned to Naruto, who was looking up at him from under his armored straw hat. He was wearing his white and black trench coat as well, with a kunai-handle trench knife strapped to his right shoulder, and an unidentifiable scroll on his back. The old man nodded to his apprentice, who nodded back, with Sakura and Hinata, wearing the same outfits they wore before, also looking up at their boyfriend's master. "Good luck."

"Thanks Ero-Sennin…" Naruto smirked.

Exchanging smiles, Jiraiya vanished in a shunshin, reappearing beside the Third Hokage a few seconds later, and stepping out of the shadows with tissue stuffed up his nostrils. He traded places with Genma, who headed off elsewhere to oversee the defenses in preparation for the coming attack. The Third looked up at his student when he arrived, who stood proudly with his arms folded.

"Surprised to see you here," Sarutobi exclaimed. Jiraiya grinned.

"Don't be. I'm just here for pleasure, not business."

"Well, let's hope your presence lightens things up a little," Hiruzen removed the pipe from his mouth and stood. Looking to his left, he saw Sunagakure's Kage approaching, fully robed and wearing a cloth for a veil, covering the bottom half of his face from the eyes down. He was accompanied by two, rather tall Suna guards, both of them wearing beige, and looking quite shady. "Kazekage! Glad you made it!"

"Hiruzen… it's been a while," the Kage replied, eye-smiling at the old man and bowing in greeting. The Third nodded back politely as the man took his seat in the middle, his guards taking up positions on either side of him. "I hope these… _proceedings_ go well…"

"Oh don't worry my friend. You're in for a bit of a surprise," Sarutobi replied, tipping his hat towards the younger village leader. "Two of your children have made it into the finals, fighting against the best my village has to offer. This should be most promising…"

"Yes… yes it should…" the Kazekage replied, just as Kirigakure's Mizukage entered the balcony.

The brown haired woman stepped onto the balcony with great grace, her appearance immediately capturing the attentions of both Hiruzen and Jiraiya. The old village leader of Konohagakure tried to maintain composure, but just lost it when he was finally able to get a good look at the Village Hidden in the Mist's new Kage.

Mei Terumi was certainly a sight to behold, the Fifth Mizukage wearing her Kage hat and dark blue, snugly warm battle-dress, showing off quite a bit of her cleavage. If Jiraiya hadn't had his nose plugged, he would just be gushing with red juice.

Accompanied by her guards Ao and Chojuro, one of the newest members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, the Mizukage approached her seat. She removed her hat and waved it like a fan when she arrived, and smiled in a kind manner towards the gawking Third Hokage. She paid his expression little mind.

"Sarutobi, if you open your mouth any further, your jaw will fall off," she giggled.

Clearing his throat and adjusting his suddenly tighter robe around his collar, Hiruzen smiled and bowed back to the young lady.

"Mizukage-sama, it is an honor," he exclaimed. "How are things back in Kirigakure?"

"Chaotic," she sighed, sliding gracefully into her seat and crossing her legs. Jiraiya couldn't help but stare as her dress hiked up her smooth thigh on that action. "Even after the Civil War, things are still a bit far south. We're just starting to pick up the pieces…"

"Well, I am sure that today's events will help lighten your mood," Hiruzen nodded. Chojuro and Ao took up defensive positions around their village leader, and looked down at the field, taking note of the shady Genin from the village, unaware that it was two of the most familiar figures from their ranks taking part in the exams.

The Kazekage glared at the Mizukage from under his hat, a bit concerned about how his plans would go, now that not only was Jiraiya accompanying the Third Hokage, but now he had to deal with the village leader of Kirigakure also. Hopefully, the chaos would help him carry off the old man with little issues.

Mei turned to the Kazekage and smiled, the man's glare softening when she turned to him. "It is so good to see you again, Kazekage-sama."

"Likewise," the man tipped his hat back at her, earning a giggle from the brown haired kunoichi.

"Why on earth are you wearing that veil? It's so hot out now…"

"We Sand Shinobi care little about the heat," the Kazekage replied, chuckling. "The sun does not bother me."

"Oh… so true…"

After the brief exchange of pleasantries between the three village leaders, Sarutobi stepped forward and focused attention on the arena below. Clearing his throat, he threw his arms out, and gave the speech he had been saving all day, silencing the murmuring crowds.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for your patience! As Hokage of the _Village Hidden in the Leaves_, I would like to personally thank each and every one of you for coming to attend this year's Chunin Exams," Hiruzen exclaimed, looking around at the crowds. "I would like to add, it is an honor to see so many distinguished members of the public in the audience, and that I must stress you all remained seated, until the rounds of this stage of the exam are over. So sit back and enjoy…"

Sakura looked left and right towards the Genin who have managed to make it to the finals, becoming reacquainted with the familiar faces. She saw that Gaara and Kankuro were glaring up towards the balcony where their Kazekage was sitting, looking quite displeased at the sight of their father. She also noticed that, not only was Takagura still completely covered in his hood and cloak, with his staff still hanging unused on his back, but she also noticed that Miki had her parasol up, angling it above her to avoid the stares from the Mizukage in the stands. Sakura understood Miki's intentions entirely, based on her position this whole thing, but decided to dispense of these thoughts.

"_Well… it looks like everybody is as ready as they'll ever be…" _Sakura thought, looking down the way a bit. _"Lee is all fired up, Ino looks like she has upped her game a little… and I think Kankuro changed his face paint pattern…"_

Ryoko stepped in front of the assembled Genin and smirked at them, hands on her hips.

"I see that you're all eager to go," the red headed swordswoman exclaimed. "Well then. You all know the rules… _right_; there are _**none**_! The winner of each match will be decided on the battle's final outcome, whether one of the candidates concedes defeat or sadly dies during the battle. Of course, _**I**_ will step in to stop the fight to avoid any unnecessary bloodshed, but hey…" She licked her lips. "Where's the fun without a bit of blood, eh?"

Naruto grinned, with Gaara smirking in excitement, and the rest of the Genin standing on either side of the two jinchuriki bracing themselves in their own ways. When the proctor saw each of them give her their bravest faces, the woman nodded her head and gave them the thumbs up, before gesturing over her shoulder with the same hand.

"The first match is between Ino Yamanaka and Rock Lee! Those of you, whose names have not been allotted into this fight, please go up to the waiting area until your names are called for your matches!" Ryoko waved them off. The entirety of Team 7 and the other Genin exchanged brief glances with each other, before proceeding to the stairs leading up to the balcony reserved for them. In the meantime, Ino and Lee assumed their positions on the arena floor, standing at a comfortable distance away from one another, with Ryoko in the middle.

As she was looking down towards the battle arena far below, the Mizukage seated comfortably up on the VIP balcony, suddenly recognized the red haired woman proctoring the matches, and leaned forward, blinking in surprise.

"Oh… it's Ryoko-chan!" she smiled happily. "Wow! It's been a while since I last saw her…"

"I believe… _**she**_ is one of your _Seven Ninja Swordsmen_ turned Konoha shinobi… my dear," the Kazekage whispered, glancing over at the astounded woman. He was hoping to provoke a bit of instability between her village and this one by egging on a rather touching subject, and hoping she would side with him on this matter. If he could gain her favor, then the Kage would be in a better position to recruit another powerful ally. "It's such a shame to lose such a valued comrade to another's side, particularly one so close to you…"

Chojuro frowned at the Kazekage at his attitude, but chose not to act on it, after seeing the headshake warning from Ao. Instead, the young swordsman decided to focus on the field, and enjoy the fights.

"_Ryoko-sensei…huh? It really __**has**__ been a while since any of us last saw her… ever since she left the village in search of Kisame Hoshigaki…" _Chojuro furrowed his brow. _"I never imagined… she would turn herself over to Konoha… and become one of them…"_

"I remember you sent me a message, Hiruzen," Mei continued, looking over at the worried old man. "You said you had come into contact with not one, but two of my former shinobi… is that right?"

"Yes it is, Mizukage-sama," Sarutobi replied, smiling over at her. "It's our village's policy to extend our hands to those in need, regardless of their origins. When we found, Ryoko she was a little lost, and it was thanks to one of our own she was able to turn over a new leaf." The old man removed the pipe from his mouth and looked over at the woman, trying to keep a calm and collected face. "As I understand it, you two _were_ good friends at one point back in your village, yes?"

Mei, her face a bit red, giggled and lay back into her seat. "We were young, and times were tough, especially for my people. Out of all of my village's shinobi, Ryoko was perhaps one of the kindest shinobi I have ever met, and perhaps one of the most well developed in terms of her personal beliefs. She didn't care about the Kekkei Genkai or what our village's policies were at the time; she just lived to serve the people and our Kage." The woman sighed happily, earning a rather lecherous look from Jiraiya as he quietly turned away and began jotting down notes. "As long as she is happy where she is… that is fine with me."

"_Lesbian village leaders, this is gold!"_ Jiraiya giggled, his pen scribbling away out of sight.

"So… you are okay with her being with us?" Sarutobi asked.

"Of course," Mei looked down at the arena, focusing more interest on the combatants. "I mean, things will be alright as long as Zabuza doesn't cause any trouble for us. But other then that, I believe cooperation between our people and yours will be very beneficial for both our villages. It can help strengthen our alliance with each other, don't you agree, Lord Hokage?"

"My thoughts exactly, Mizukage-sama," Sarutobi replied, nodding his head. "Hopefully, later onwards, we can discuss new terms on our trade and shinobi policies…"

"Of course…"

The former swordswoman of the Village Hidden in the Mists waited till the other competitors were out of sight and up in their balcony overlooking the arena. Once they were set and ready, she proceeded on with her duties. "Alright then, if everyone is ready…" She looked between Lee and Ino, the two of them staring at each other intensely. Ryoko raised her right hand, and after a few seconds, she smirked and dropped it. "Go for it!"

Lee smirked and assumed a fighting stance, right arm behind him and left hand held up, his basic fighting form that he started with in every conflict. Ino, sweating a bit nervously, took in a deep breath and also assumed a fighting stance. The one she started with surprised a lot of the Genin who knew her, as well as Asuma and Kurenai in the stands high above.

"Hang on… I recognize that stance," Sakura whispered, leaning over the railing to get a better look, while glancing over at Naruto, who was smiling with his arms folded. "Don't tell me you had the time to teach her that?"

The blonde shrugged back. "It's a style I knew would do well against Lee's. While my bushy-browed friend focused a lot on his sensei's flamboyant style of taijutsu, I taught Ino wing-chun style when she came to me for help, a form of fighting I knew would be right up her ally." Naruto raised an eyebrow, and glanced over at his teammates, who were both looking at him curiously. "But I didn't just teach her some of _my_ stuff. You forget; Zabuza also had her under his wing for a lot of the month…"

"Hmm…" Kurenai furrowed her brow, looking over at an equally surprised Asuma, a passive Kakashi, and a happily eating Anko. "Do any of you know how strong Ino has gotten, exactly?"

"I wasn't keeping tabs on her that much," Kakashi shrugged.

"Neither have I… man… these dumplings are delicious," Anko giggled through mouthfuls of her favorite treat. Asuma looked at the purple haired woman oddly, who used one of her dango filled sticks to scratch her hair, before eating off of it.

Kurenai frowned. "That's disgusting, Anko…"

"What?" Anko mumbled over, her cheeks full and puffed up like a blow fish. The Jonin just ignored her, and turned their attention back to the Genin in the arena.

"In comparison to Rock Lee, I don't think my student will be able to hold up against the boy for very long, to be honest," Asuma murmured, rubbing his chin in thought as he stared intently down at Ino. "After the first half of the month, she just seemed to drop off the grid for a bit. I knew that Zabuza was training her since I put him up to the challenge, but I think she's also gotten training from somebody else in her free time…"

Smiling, Lee glared down his opponent with a noble-fighter's respect, and nodded to her. "Let us make this a fun one, Ino-chan!"

Ino smiled back and nodded. "Let's…"

Without another word, Lee dashed at her, leaping through the air, he came in with a spinning air kick, bringing his hurricane of a leg down onto her. The bleach blonde saw this and quickly slid back, avoiding the blow that connected with the solid earth and split it, sending dust and debris flying everyone as she moved back to avoid. Skidding to a stop, Ino assumed a more defensive stance, one that Naruto showed her, and watched as Lee gained a better footing and lunged at her again.

Ino held her ground and raised both hands up and out ahead of her, watching as Lee attacked. As soon as he came in with a right side kick, she whacked it away with a firm block and slid into his attack range. Then, with surprising speed displayed in her fist work, Ino struck her opponent three times in the chest then hooked across his face, the boy staggering back and withdrawing his leg, leaping away. Ino remained where she was, reassuming a more stable stance and balanced herself out.

Lee, retreating to a safer distance, dropped into a more appropriate stance for this confrontation. Frowning, he crouched briefly for a spring-loaded start, and charged; hooking around to Ino's left in his dash. He swung in with a right hook, followed by a left, backwards-roundhouse kick, a right side kick, a left roundhouse kick, a left hook, a right punch, a left hook, and so on, pressing on combinations swiftly, backed up a by a lot of physical power. Ino however, stepping back little by little, met each incoming attack head on with swift hand maneuvers, parries and blocks, swiping out in every expected direction to block each incoming kick and punch, making sure to shield her entire upper body from his assualt. She recognized a pattern with Lee's attacks in which he attempted to strike at his opponent's head and chest more often then their limbs, and capitalized on that.

Going through exactly what Naruto showed her on the wooden man, Ino managed to block and effectively stop most of Lee's attacks, bringing her leg up in a check to absorb the force of a roundhouse kick aimed at her mid section. Frowning, she leapt back a fair distance and stopped, reassuming a stable stance and locking onto her target. At the same time she retreated, Lee dashed at her, causing her mind to race with desperate thought.

"_Lee is faster and stronger then me. Even if I do manage to block his attacks in a stalled fight, it still hurts like hell. Man he hits hard!"_ Ino stepped back and smacked her hands in a downward direction, knocking a front kick down and preventing it from landing. She ducked under a roundhouse kick that followed shortly after, and swept at Lee's legs, the boy leaping straight up into the air with amazing agility, and gaining incredible height. So much so, the by actually disappeared into the sun high above. When Ino attempted to scout him, she got blinded by the UV rays, and in response to this debacle, she leapt to her left as fast as she could, her opponent descending swiftly, legs spinning like a tornado.

"KONOHA DAI SENPUU!" Lee roared, his kick slamming right into the ground. The shockwave that followed as he broke the sound barrier, literally punched a five meter wide crater in the earth, causing splits to appear in the arena's surface again. Ino barrel-rolled, avoiding a majority of the attack, but was breezed by the shockwave. She rolled along the ground and got back up as quick as she could, spinning around and returning to the defensive.

"_Any closer and I would have been killed," _Ino thought, gritting her teeth. _"I need to rethink my strategy…"_

"Well, her taijutsu certainly has improved if she's lasted this long against a strong opponent like Lee," Kakashi commented, the time ticking into the first twelve minutes. The Jonin looked over at Asuma. "I'm guessing you put your team under a bit more pressure to bump up their skill, huh?"

Asuma smiled as he watched Lee continue to swiftly dash in and out from Ino's range, the girl also dancing around the battlefield to avoid a majority of Lee's more devastating attacks. The two of them literally ran circles around each other, with Ryoko standing at a safe distance as the two clashed. Loud thumps could be heard echoing through the air as fists and kicks connected, leaving the crowd stunned at the ferocity of the battle raging before them. It was only so early into the fight, and already things were starting to heat up.

Defending again, Ino blocked a downward descent kick and held, before striking at Lee under the knee with her forearms, effectively knocking his leg off of her. The boy quickly recovered and came in with a backwards roundhouse kick, the girl retreating to avoid it, at the same time she continued to think up a strategy to use against her opponent.

Leaping away to gain better distance, with Lee in pursuit of his opponent, Ino dropped to her knees and glared. In spite of having the most chakra on her team, she was steadily losing energy with the constant defense she was putting up against the incredibly energetic Lee. A bit bruised and panting from her efforts, the blonde felt that if she was going to go down, then she was going to do it in style.

Forming a series of hand seals, she then threw both hands out, linking her fingers and arching them into a loop. She used the arch she created as a crosshairs marker, and took aim at her opponent.

"_Mind Body Disruption Technique,"_ she blurted, biting her lower lip.

Just as Lee was upon her and coming in with a jab, he was suddenly thrown back by an unknown force and sent flying about a dozen meters across the arena, before he managed to skid to a stop, crossing his arms over his face. Glaring through his defense, he locked onto the girl, who was still taking aim with her hands.

"_I remember…"_ Lee thought, shaking his head of the backlash. _"She used this on that stretchy guy back in the preliminaries to knock him out."_ He took another stance and prepared himself. _"I must remain strong. I cannot let myself get exhausted and fall victim to it!"_

"_He's strong!"_ Ino thought, furrowing her brow. _"My technique focuses on disrupting the person's nervous system. But because Lee is so physically strong, it's impossible to gain control of him! I need to tire him out."_

Now she was just hoping she would be able to last that long for her technique to actually work.

Lee crouched and leapt through the air, soaring towards the girl. Ino followed her opponent, formed a single hand sign and took aim again. She fired off a single burst of invisible chakra, which she knew would be able to throw off her opponent again. A split second later, she managed to hit him while he was in mid-air, causing Lee's kick to go the wrong way, surprising the boy. Ino then leapt back to her feet and, spinning a side-kick up at the boy, she struck him square in the stomach. The blow was strong enough to wind him, and sent him flying in the opposite direction. He tumbled when he crashed to the ground, rolling several times before skidding to a stop on all fours.

Bruised, Rock Lee smirked up at his opponent, and wiped his cheek with the back of his wrist.

"That was a good hit," Kakashi commented.

"She's using her head a bit more, I see," Kurenai nodded. "She was one of the top graduating students from the academy in terms of written material… and she's incredibly perceptive. It's only understandable that Ino would start throwing her head into the battle a bit more…"

"Shikamaru, Ino and Choji are all incredibly intelligent," Asuma said, smirking. "I may not have the strongest students, but I've definitely got the smartest…"

Ino, knowing she had to tire Lee out a bit more in order for her techniques to have more of an effect, reassumed a fighting stance and readied herself. Lee, still smiling in excitement, crouched down and pulled down his legwarmers. In one swift movement, he threw his leg weights off, the small, incredibly heavy bars coming down on all sides around him, punching small craters into the ground as they landed. With the extra weight gone, Lee could finally move more freely, with Ino becoming even wearier at the new development.

"_O-Oh…"_

"YOSH! GO LEE!" Gai exclaimed, throwing his fist in the air. The other Jonin jumped when the bowl-hair cut lookalike of Rock Lee appeared right in between their ranks, causing Asuma and Kakashi to glare at him. "Let yourself go my student!"

In the blink of an eye, Lee suddenly vanished into thin air, literally taking off faster then anyone else's eyes could follow. The audience was awed when the green Genin suddenly disappeared, and began cheering loudly, fight getting turned up a notch.

Ino spun around, hearing footsteps zipping left and right. Taking the defensive, she desperately tried to find her opponent. But all she got were brief glimpses of him, whether it was an arm, a leg, or his head, she couldn't tell. As hard as she had trained the entire month, Lee was still the faster and stronger, and had obviously upped his speed even more since his match with Eclipse. The Genin up in the balcony could see this clearly, with Sakura clenching the railings in worry.

"Oh no!"

"Ino still isn't strong enough to tackle that guy head to head!" Kiba shouted, also trying to follow the boy. But Lee was in a whole new dimension of speed. His true strength was unleashed. "This fight is done…"

"Don't count her out just yet," Gaara whispered, glancing over at Team 7 and Kiba. Naruto wasn't saying a word, and was just watching the battle closely with his arms crossed and brow furrowed. "The fight isn't over till it's over…" Kankuro had to agree with his little bro on that, with Miki also nodding her head in the shadows.

"Raw strength is great if you can combine it with technique," Naruto informed, lowering his face a bit under his hat when his team turned to look at him. "Lee is an example of both raw power and incredible skill. However, Ino prefers strategy and tact to power, and technique above endurance. Sure she doesn't seem like much of a head-on fighter, but when in a team, her skills are much to be desired…"

Just as Naruto said that, Ino was suddenly sent skyrocketing when Lee reappeared directly underneath her, and kicked straight up into her face, sending her skywards. The blow effectively winded the girl as she ascended at a high speed through the air, with Ino spitting up blood, heads turning at the sight. Lee, upon opening up one of his primary attacks, dropped down low and leapt after her, reappearing right in front of the girl, and slamming his foot down onto her abdomen when they were easily at the Third Hokage's balcony height above the ground.

Repositioning her in mid-air, so that she was head down towards the ground, Lee swung around her suspended body, and grabbed her from behind, securing her against him. The Genin braced when they saw Lee suddenly explode into movement, beginning a downward descent into what the shinobi present recognized as the Front Lotus. He spun Ino at a high velocity as they fell, the speed and high rotation easily disorientating not only Ino, but Lee as well.

"That's not good!" Tenten shouted, rising to her feet, as did a lot of the people in the audience as they watched the two Genin rocket towards the ground. "She won't survive that attack, even if it's not the complete Front Lotus! Is Lee insane?"

"He plans on landing with her to cushion the blow," Anko murmured, with the other teachers standing to her left agreeing on the observation. "Not kill her, just knock her out…"

However Ino, well aware of the fact that if she and her opponent hit the ground, and she was still in this downward descent, it was over for her; and she did not want to be seeing the unconscious world so early on in this fight. Instead, she tried a desperate, if not unorthodox, approach. Feeling the top of Lee's head pressed against the side of her neck as they fell, she knew exactly where to hit in order to throw him off. She swung her head forward and, after taking aim, swung it back, striking the very top of Lee's head as hard as she could. The blow hit the pressure point at the top of the skull, which was used to help provide equilibrium to the rest of the body.

It was the exact moment Ino's hit struck Lee; the boy was suddenly seeing flashes and blurs all around him. The effects of the blow caused him to release Ino prematurely, the girl taking full advantage of this by wrapping her legs back and holding his waist to hers tightly as they completed the high speed fall.

The rotation of the pair stopped five meters above the ground, and the direction of their descent was thrown off. The end result had both Ino and Lee hitting the ground, body first, and bouncing away from each other. The pair rolled to a stop, groaning and yelling in agony at the force of the impact, which left an indent in the rock solid ground.

Ryoko raised an eyebrow at the double impact, the crowd verbally and visibly wincing at the impact from the fall. Even the Jonin winced when they saw the end result of Ino's maneuver, Gai becoming a little bit concerned at the sight of the failed attack.

"Well… whatever works," Kakashi exclaimed.

"Zabuza's training helped quite a bit," Kurenai commented, placing her hand on her chin. "The Front Lotus is a one-hit kill technique in most cases, even its parent technique was meant to just incapacitate the victim. However, if the attack was somehow broken in mid-descent, then not only would both combatants survive the fall, but they would have also sustained incredible damage from it…"

"That was quite a smart and stupid move on both their parts," Anko stated, lowering her head. "Lee attempted to end the fight quickly, but Ino was having none of it, and instead… used her head…" The woman laughed outright when her thoughts translated into words. "Man… they'll be feeling _**that**_ in the morning…"

Ryoko walked in between the two Genin and looked to make sure whether they were both alright, and still fighting fit. Ino sustained most of the damage from the fall, being on the receiving end of the attack from the beginning. When she stood up, her right arm was visibly dislodged from its shoulder, hanging at her side limply. Speaking of which, her clothes were torn up from the impact, and her skin visible scathed and bruised. Lee was also in a bad state of his own, disoriented from executing the attack, and also dizzy from the **wham** to the head. He gripped his skull in agony, groaning as he attempted to stand, at the same time Ino tried.

"_Boy… these two are pretty high toned…" _Ryoko commented, stepping back and slipping her hands into her pockets. _"This should be interesting…"_

"Right… where are you…" Lee groaned drunkenly, staggering around and trying to see through his impaired vision. "My most… youthful… of opponents! That…" The boy fumbled to the right, clutching the side of his head again "…was most…unyouthful of me…"

"I'm… right here…" Ino groaned back. Crying out in pain, she grabbed her dangling hand with her other still good hand and, propping it up on her knee, forcefully went through hand seals and took aim with it. "Mind Body… Disruption Technique!" she shouted. A shockwave of chakra shot out from her hands and struck Lee full on.

Now that the boy was disoriented and fatigued as a result of his unsuccessful execution of the Front Lotus technique, he was completely at the young girl's mercy. His body froze up, and began lashing about awkwardly, more awkwardly then how he was tumbling about before. Ino, gritting her teeth through the pain in her dislocated arm, used her left arm over her injured limb, and directed the boy's movements with it. "This fight is MINE!" she yelled, and forcefully turned Lee around.

Through sheer practice of her technique, Ino commanded fuzzy brows to run straight forward at full speed, head held in front and unable to stop. Seconds later, unhampered by any obstacles, the boy hit the wall head long. The blow easily knocked Lee out cold, leaving a dent of his hard head in the side of the wall, with his body slumping against it and sliding down the concrete. The crowd groaned, wincing yet again at the impact, with the Jonin and members of Team Gai staring in shock. Even the Genin up in the balcony were visibly discomforted by Ino's method of how she ended the fight.

"Ouch…" Kankuro groaned.

"That has _**got**_ to hurt!" Kiba chuckled, gripping the top of his head in response to the sight and rubbing it. Akamaru, sitting happily in his coat, barked in agreement.

"After that failed Lotus technique, he's definitely not getting up after that," Kakashi calculated, the Jonin scratching heads and making the same judgment calls.

"Wow… that was quite… unexpected," Temari said, rubbing her head and looking over at Tenten and Kin, both of them sitting next to her. "Man… did you guys feel that?"

"Yeah…" Tenten murmured, shaking her head. "The entire arena shook…"

Neji frowned and sweat-dropped, wondering if Lee was ever going to come back from this defeat, or come back at all with the head slam.

The crowd cheered wildly when they saw Ino stagger back to her feet, gripping her loose arm and panting heavily from overuse of chakra and strenuous movement. It was truly an astounding fight, with even the Third Hokage and Mizukage applauding the performance. Ryoko stepped forward once again and hopefully for the last time in this fight, looking between Ino and her unconscious opponent. Chuckling, she raised her hand.

"The winner is…"

However, before she could declare the victor, a round of gasps was heard from the stand, alerting the proctor and stopping her from waving the flag too early. The Genin in the balcony blinked in shock, with Naruto smiling in delight at what everybody else was seeing. Even the Jonin and Chunin up in the stands were astonished by what they saw was happening before them.

Ino, just about to collapse in exhaustion from her battle, looked up to see what was happening, and gasped in shock when she unexpectedly saw Lee charging straight at her, blood running down his face from the split in his head.

The girl blinked in astonishment. _"Impossible… he was knocked out cold!"_ She then suddenly noticed something odd about her newly recovered opponent in those few, brief seconds, before he struck out at her.

His eyes were closed…

Within a matter of seconds, before the blonde girl could react, Lee sent a punch straight across her face. The blow, unhindered by a block, knocked Ino flat out and off her feet. The blonde girl was sent flying through the air at the force of the blow, and after a thirty meter flight, bounced across the ground once, twice, and more then three times, before rolling to a stop at the wedge between the ground and wall dividing the arena from the stands.

It was finally, with that… the fight was over…

Ino was knocked out and lying against the wall, unconscious, and Lee was standing victorious… well… mostly…

Ryoko, with her arm still raised, shrugged her shoulders and lowered her arm, completing her announcement. "ROCK LEE!"

"_Geez… almost jumped the gun there…"_

The crowd, stunned at first, then erupted into a round of applause, cheering the green boy on who had managed to get up after such a mind-boggling blow. Naruto began applauding as well, the Genin standing around him still scratching their heads, wondering what the hell just happened. Anko, laughing her head off, also clapped, alongside a stunned Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai, with Gai cheering on the sidelines.

"YES! That's my student! Way to go!" he exclaimed, punching his fist in the air.

"I didn't see that coming," Tenten clapped, looking over at Neji, who was smiling down at his teammate. "How did he get up after that?"

"Heh, I'm not sure if he's even _up_," the Hyuuga chuckled.

"Huh?" Tenten raised an eyebrow.

"What just happened? I thought Lee-kun was knocked out?" Hinata asked, looking up at her boyfriend. "Wasn't he?"

"He still is," Naruto chuckled, clapping his hands, impressed.

"What did you say?" Kiba shook his head, bewildered. "I'm not sure if I heard you right…"

"Lee is still knocked out!" Naruto gestured down to the arena, to see Ryoko grab Lee's hand and raise it into the air, but then do a double-take when she saw that the boy's head was slumped over and that his eyes were closed, unresponsive. "You see for years, Lee has trained so hard in the arts of taijutsu, and after working endlessly and tirelessly in making his physical body stronger, even when he's out cold, he can still fight."

"_**WHAT?"**_ Everybody in the balcony, except the Kiri Ninja, shouted in shock.

"Working non-stop in martial arts for years has had an interesting side-effect; Lee's body can literally act on its own when his mind is unresponsive, and, while in the midst of battle, can fight on his behalf," Naruto said, looking over at Sakura and Kiba. "It's a thing called muscle-memory, in which the body can function on just recollection by the muscles from previous movements and engagements. It builds itself up for years, and can function without the person being conscious, especially in the case of Rock Lee, who practically trains 25 hours a day!" The blonde laughed and scratched his nose. "Kind of reminds me of the time I fell asleep on the roof one day, and woke up fighting a horde of wild animals in the _Forest of Death_. Man… I really needed to let myself loose…"

Regardless of being unconscious or not, Lee clearly won the match, though Ino had put up a pretty descent fight to impress even her teachers, teammates, and pretty much everybody else in the audience. She was carried off to the medical bay by the clean-up staff to quickly receive treatment, while one of them hung back to help fix up the still unconscious Lee's head, healing it, stitching it up, and bandaging it.

It was not until Lee regained consciousness several minutes later he finally felt the effects of what had happened.

"Oooh… where am I?" Lee moaned, and staggered around in a complete circle, clutching his head and unexpectedly discovering it to be bandaged up. "Why am I wrapped up? Where's my opponent?"

"You won, cannon fodder," Ryoko laughed from the sidelines, the woman smiling at the fuzzy browed kid. "I have to say though, your opponent put up one heck of a fight. How do you feel?"

"Uhh… I won uhnn… I WON?" Lee unexpectedly shouted, his expression changing from confused to one of delight. He let out a loud whoop and punched the air. "YES! I DID IT, GAI-SENSEI!"

"Well done Lee!" Gai called from the top of the stairs, giving him the thumbs up. The other Jonin standing beside him just shook their heads, while going on to discuss the quality of the fight and what the Genin have displayed so far. "I knew you could do it!"

"Man… Ino almost had it," Shikamaru groaned, propping his head up on his hands and sighing. "We will _**not**_ be hearing the end of this…"

"Yeah… _ma-aan_," Choji mumbled through mouthfuls of chips. "But hey, here's a positive for our team… Ino has gotten much stronger now. She's probably even stronger then both of us combined…"

Shikamaru frowned. _"Well… that's certainly __**not**__ good…"_

_

* * *

_

_**Round 2…**_

The following match had the crowd really riled up, with Kankuro's puppets having the hay-day of their carpentered lives with Kiba Inuzuka all over the arena. The actual firepower that the puppet user had stuffed into Crow and unveiled to his opponent in the opening minutes of their battle forced Ryoko to abandon her position in the middle of the field, and retreat to higher ground as explosion after explosion ripped across the grounds, forcing Kiba and Akamaru on the run. Eventually, the Genin and his dog companion brought the fight directly to within a few feet of Kankuro with their _Man-Beast Clone Combo_ attacks, the same attacks that had Sasuke exhausted in their battle and ensured their victory.

Of course, while Kankuro chose to keep his distance in his fights, this tactic ultimately cost him when it came to close-range fighting. Everyone watched with interest as Kiba plowed through the first puppet, and attacked Kankuro viciously and relentlessly, face-to-face. The boy knew that outside of his puppets, the teen was effectively vulnerable in hand-to-hand. However, what the Inuzuka found out the hard way, was that even in pieces, the puppets could still move. As he was about to jump Kankuro from both sides with Akamaru, he was unexpectedly cut down by Crow's hidden arm blades when they were yanked out of the main body through his chakra strings and came flying out of nowhere.

The poison tipped blades hit both Kiba and Akamaru and had them tumbling across the battlefield covered in extra arms, which were eventually yanked out of them and returned to hovering around their owner, head included. Compensating for the disintegrated body, Kankuro disassembled the arms in mid-air and, piecing them together, formed an agile snake out of them, with head bobbing around on one end, and a katana on the other.

Scarred by the poisoned blades, and heart racing from the close-handed fight, Kiba only had a few minutes at best before he would pass out. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to take down Kankuro with him.

"You're a slippery bugger, aren't yah?" Kiba exclaimed, wiping his nose. "It seems kind of strange that you use puppets to fight your opponents… but who am I to argue? I'm basically a two-man team already…"

The boy tried to hold in his panting, exhaustion and dizziness overtaking him. Akamaru however, collapsed to his knees in his Kiba form, already falling to the effects already starting to eat away at his body. Kankuro grinned and held his Crow-Snake to bear, mouth opening and revealing another sword.

"Let's finish this up!" Kankuro chuckled, despite the fact that he was a bit battered up himself from getting hit twice by Kiba's Duel Piercing Fang technique. "I'll make you pay for poking fun at my choice of outfit!"

"Bring it on!" Kiba roared charging forward, Akamaru joining him. Kankuro threw his hands out, fingers dancing away and moving his puppet around. The Crow-Snake cart wheeled through the air before shooting straight for Kiba, the Inuzuka weaving in and around with his companion look-a-like, attempting to throw off his opponent.

The puppet shot through the air like a marionette dragon, coming into range and lashing out at Kiba, who barrel-rolled out of the way. Akamaru leapt at it from behind as it reared up to attack Kiba, who was crouched low beneath it. Before the dog could initiate the Piercing Fang technique, the back of the puppet's head cracked opened up and revealed one of its seldom used projectiles. Instead of kunai laced with explosive tags shooting out of its arms or hands, it shot out a gas canister that was installed in it, which struck Akamaru in the stomach and knocked him flying, gas spewing out of can and clouding the area around Kiba, Akamaru and the puppet.

The good thing for Kankuro was that he was certain they were breathing in the knock-out fumes. That bad thing was though; he wasn't sure whether Kiba and Akamaru had fallen for the trap.

The boy raised his arms up to his face; puppet still attached to his strings, and glared through the purple gas, attempting to make out his opponent in the purple mass. The crowds watched in anticipation as the cloud continued to fill the arena, with Ryoko watching closely from against the side of the wall, staying as far away from the gas as possible.

"Where are you…?" Kankuro growled, eyes whipping left and right.

Suddenly, the gas wall ten meters in front of him exploded outwards as Kiba came charging at him on all fours, his speed covering the distance between the two of them in seconds. However, Kankuro reacted at the same time Kiba reappeared, slapping his hands together and recalling his puppet. The Crow-Snake swiftly slithered out of the cloud of gas and struck out at Kiba from behind. With expert finger work, Kankuro had the Crow puppet lunge at the boy and swiftly wrap around his legs, effectively tripping him up and throwing Kiba flat out onto the ground. The Inuzuka teen landed face first with a loud thud, an 'oof' escaping his lips on impact.

Kankuro, relieved, crouched down and grinned at the boy lying a meter from him. "So… ready to apologize for your smart-ass comments about me, eh?"

Kiba glared up at him. _**"Bark!"**_

Kankuro blinked in shock. "What?"

All of a sudden, the real Kiba came flying out of the gas and lunging at Kankuro, the boy looking up in surprise. Grinning, the Inuzuka threw his arms around and began his high-velocity rotation, his body turning into the end-point of a raging tornado, which barreled straight towards the puppet user.

"PIERCING FANG!" Kiba roared.

Kankuro couldn't react in time, and was struck head-long by the attacking Genin, and driven straight into the arena wall ten meters behind him. The simultaneous impacts of Kankuro then Kiba sent an explosion of debris and dust everywhere, the Genin up in the waiting area looking down in surprise.

Temari gasped and rose from her seat in the stands, looking down towards the arena with concern, as did Gaara on the balcony, who walked closer to the railings and looked over to better see the results of the fight. Naruto raised an eyebrow, whereas Sakura and Hinata held their breaths, hoping that the two were alright.

When the dust and gas cloud finally cleared, it was revealed that Kankuro had been drilled deep into an impact crater in the side of the wall, the front of his clothes torn up and stained from the debris. Kiba stood in front of him, panting heavily and looking down at the unconscious boy, whose hold over the puppet binding the Kiba-Akamaru now released. Akamaru changed back to normal in a puff of smoke and, after limping towards his master, collapsed at his feet, whimpering.

Kiba, trying to control his breathing, also collapsed to his knees, grinning and petting Akamaru on the head.

"Good boy…"

"_Arf_…" was Akamaru's quiet reply.

The crowd slowly moved from a state of awe, to a state of celebration and delight. Applause spread throughout the audience, and within seconds, the entire arena rose up with cheering, whistles, and shouts of joy. The people were clearly entertained, and so were the Jonin.

"He's certainly come far, your student," Asuma glanced over at Kakashi, grinning. "You must be proud…"

"I sure am," Kakashi, eye smiling in his characteristic way, looked back over at Asuma in kind. "He did well…"

"He knew Kankuro wouldn't be able to see him through the gas, and used that to his advantage," Kurenai smiled. "The boy cleverly had Akamaru divert his opponent's attention to him, while he attacked from a blind-spot. Nice move…"

Sasuke, also in the audience next to his quiet friend and comrade Shino, folded his arms and smirked. "The under-dog has become top-dog now…eh?" the Uchiha commented. The bug-user glanced over at his teammate, sunglasses flashing.

"You don't care?"

The Uchiha shook his head and leant back, putting his hands behind his head.

"Nope," Sasuke exclaimed in a monotone voice. "_Everything has its time_. That's what my mom always told me…"

Shino, not wanting to pry too much into Sasuke's complicated life, shrugged back, and turned towards the arena.

"Oh well," Temari sighed and sat back down, smiling a bit. "He did his best…"

"At least your brother wasn't up against Naruto," Tenten chuckled looking over at the golden haired girl, while ignoring the cheering from Choji a couple seats across to her right. "That would have been embarrassing…"

"Oh yeah… definitely…" Temari smiled. However, she was inwardly worried about how Naruto would do when it came to his fight, and looked down towards where he stood alongside her younger brother. From where she sat with Tenten and Kin, she could see the participants clear as day. _"I hope you do alright… Naruto…"_

Ryoko, waving away some of the gas from the commotion, walked forward to where Kiba knelt, with Kankuro still stuck in the wall, slumped over. Checking both boys, she smirked and turned towards the audience, raising her hand.

"The winner, Kiba Inuzuka!" she declared, earning a series of cheers from the audience.

As Kankuro was helped out by a medical team, and Kiba was given an antidote to the paralysis poison along with his companion, up in the balcony, Sakura was flexing her arms and getting ready for her fight. Stretching, she smiled at Naruto as he turned towards her, then to Hinata, and then, grinned over at Gaara.

The red haired boy turned to her in response. With the anticipation of the next fight growing, both combatants smirked at each other.

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

_**

* * *

**_

Omake - Episode 2 - The Adventure's of Mia

"The sun is bright and shiny, the sky is lovely and blue..." Mia sang as she danced along the road, smiling happily and chewing on a reed. She was somewhere in Konoha, around one of the many boulevards of restaurants and food stores. Swishing her red hair about her and her ringed eyes looking from left to right, the young Sage happily skipped her day away. "The road is wide and dusty... well, this sounds like a good time to go around and have some fun!"

Looking left and right, the young woman suddenly spotted a familiar face walking towards her along the road, face engrossed in a bok and one hand in his pocket. Blinking, the girl hummed her way over to the silver haired Jonin and popped up in front of him, with Kakashi looking up and over the top of his book.

"Hello!"

"Oh, hello Mia," Kakashi cleared his throat, eye-smiling. "How are you?"

"I'm happy!" The girl giggled and twirled on the spot, and moved around to the man's side, peeking over his shoulder. "Watcha' reading?"

"Oh uhh... " Kakashi blushed a bit and cleared his throat, angling the book away so that she could see the first couple of pages. "Well it's uhh... it's umm... a story about... uhh... a man... and a woman... umm... falling in love! Yes! That's right!" The Jonin chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Yes! Lots of women falling in love!"

"Oooooohh...!" Mia then smiled, swiftly snatching the book from his hand and opening it to the first page. "Let me see!"

"Hang on, wait!" Kakashi shouted. Before he could make a grab for it, Mia flicked through the pages from start to finish in just one second and looked at the back of the book. Her face scrunched up in thought and she held the book back up to Kakashi.

"There's a lot of sex in here!" Mia said loudly, attracting a lot of unwanted attention from passerbyers. Kakashi, chuckling nervously, grabbed the book and pocketed it, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Uhh... yes. About that..."

"Are you good at having sex?" Mia asked curiously, giving him a rather cute expression when she said that.

"No... uhh... what! NO! I mean! Yes!"

"Really?" Mia asked, levitating off the ground a few feet and hovering around in front of him from left to right, causing the man to back up a little. "Can you show me? Huh? Show me! Show me! Show me! Show me!"

"Please, Mia," Kakashi hissed, grabbing the girl by the shoulders. He paused for a moment when he noticed she was floating. "Wow... how do you do that...? Floating...hang on! Wait! Listen! You can't do... you know... **_that _**in public!" The man looked around awkwardly, seeing the strange stares he was getting from people.

"Awww... why not?" Mia asked, flipping over and hovering higher up so her eyes are level. "It sounded fun in the book..."

"It's inappropriate," Kakashi replied, releasing the girl's shoulders. "It's something... you do in private..."

"But those girls in the book did it in the..."

"Shhhhhh!" Kakashi hushed her up, glancing around. "Spoilers..."

"Oh!" Mia nodded in understanding, a smile spreading across her lips. "But can you show me?"

"Go find umm... uhh... lets see... Naruto! Yes! Go find Naruto!" Kakashi turned her around in mid-air and gently pushed her down the road. "I'm sure he will be glad to show you."

"OKAY!" Mia exclaimed, beginning to walk upsidedown through the air down the road. "Master! Master! Master!" She shouted as she disappeared down the streets. Kakashi sighed and shook his head, rubbing his temples.

"Why me? It's always me!"


	40. The Final test part 2

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_The Final Test part 2_

Down on the arena floor, Sakura and Gaara glared at each other, with the pink haired kunoichi adjusting a newly acquired pair of fingerless fighting gloves, with metallic braces on the knuckles. Her opponent just stood where he was with his arms folded and expression unchanged. Though he was well aware of his opponent's incredible strength, he had little to worry. Unless Sakura could get by several inches of thick sand that can stop a bullet in its tracks or even an avalanche, then it would be at that point Gaara would have something to genuinely worry about. But for now, the two of them just took to glaring at each other.

The crowds murmured loudly and excitedly, expecting a good match to come from these two promising Genin. Anko paid particular attention to this upcoming fight, taking a seat and pulling out some popcorn out from her trench coat, with her Jonin comrades standing by her watching on with just as much curiosity as the next person. The Third Hokage was most interested to see how Sakura Haruno would fair against the Kazekage's own son, the most promising Genin to come out of Sunagakure in years, having watched him literally breeze through the competition in the preliminaries.

The Kazekage watched closely as well, and with great anticipation to be seen under the veil of his mask, knowing full well that it would be tailed beast inside Gaara, which will help him decimate the great village of Konohagakure.

It was only a matter of time till his plan unfolded.

"Hmm… that would be your son Gaara down there, am I right, Kazekage-sama?" Mei exclaimed, glancing over at the masked village leader. The man smiled back in response from under his veil.

"Oh yes. That's my son," the village leader replied, though his response lacked any emotion to indicate his enthusiasm on the subject. "He is incredibly powerful, perhaps even stronger then an average Chunin from my village. Gaara has truly come far…"

"So I see…" Mei nodded, looking back down towards the arena.

"How do you think this will turn out?" Kiba asked from where he stood in between Lee, who had just gotten back from the medical bay, and Naruto, who stood to Hinata's right. Miki and Takagura were standing well away from the small group, and were staring down at the arena quietly with similar, stoic expressions.

"It should be an interesting fight," Naruto smiled. "I have great confidence in Gaara. But I am certain Sakura will come out victorious in this one."

"You are so certain, Naruto-kun!" Lee exclaimed, glancing over at his blonde teammate. "You have such faith in your comrades."

"I believe in them more then I believe in myself," Naruto stated, nodding his head affirmatively. "You can always rely on your comrade to pick you up when you fall or carry you when you are injured. As _their_ friend and comrade, you would do the same if they fell over or needed your help, wouldn't you…?"

"How true!" Lee grinned, and let out a mighty cheer which echoed down from the balcony. "Sakura-chan will do well! And so shall her opponent!"

Ryoko, after looking between the two combatants to see that they were ready, smiled and raised her hand. "If there are no objections or complaints… you may begin!"

She leapt away, at the same time, the cork on Gaara's gourd came undone and a cloud of sand slithered out. The thick mass of particles began to hover in the air behind him, like a snake slithering across the ground. Sakura smiled and reached behind her and into her pouch, grabbing a cluster of shuriken and holding them between her fingers, eyeing her opponent carefully. His sand seemed to react to the threat, while he stood where he was with his arms crossed, glaring at her.

The crowd silenced itself in anticipation, the two Genin below finally doing something.

"Well then," Sakura exclaimed, smirking. "Let's test that ultimate defense of yours, Gaara-san…" In the blink of an eye, Sakura tossed the shuriken straight at the boy, the ninja stars cutting through the air swiftly and simultaneously. The sand floating behind the jinchuriki shot around and shielded him, the ninja stars smacking against the blanket of sand and lodging themselves in it, uselessly. Sakura then sprinted forward, opening up on her assault, charging at her opponent as quickly as she could.

Unfortunately, her speed on her approach put her at a disadvantage.

Gaara smiled, the hardened sand in front of him suddenly loosening, and slamming straight down into the ground before rising up. Within seconds, the stream fed from his gourd transformed into a sand version of himself, the copy's right hand holding the shuriken caught from the kunoichi's barrage. Sakura furrowed her brow at the sight and leapt through the air, flying straight down towards the red haired boy. Gaara's sand copy threw her shuriken back at her as a welcoming present, which Sakura knocked aside with a kunai, before tossing the drawn kunai at Gaara in response. The sand copy raised its throwing arm and caught the knife, the blade sinking into the limb.

Before it could throw it back, Sakura flew right into it, foot first. Her kick literally disintegrated the clone, allowing her to land within Gaara's outer defensive perimeter, and charge at him. She kicked up dirt on her restart as she lunged at the boy, cranking her right arm back and throwing it at her opponent, who continued to stand where he was with his arms folded, glaring at the kunoichi's incoming punch.

However, just before the punch could land, Sakura smirked and suddenly, vanished right in front of Gaara. The red haired Genin looked up in shock, just as his target reappeared right behind him, skidding across the ground to a stop.

The Genin up in the waiting area blinked in astonishment, except for Naruto, Hinata and Takagura.

"She's fast!" Kiba choked, rubbing his eyes, "Faster then before!"

"Whoa…" Lee exclaimed, leaning over the railings in excitement. "Sakura-chan is about as fast as me without my weights on… maybe even the same speed as me!"

Gaara had but a second to look behind him before one of Sakura's killer punches connected with his face. The blow sent a shockwave ringing out around them, and threw the Suna Genin off of his feet and sailing through the air, before he inevitably hit the ground several meters away.

Recovering from the hard landing, Gaara sat up, struggling in the effort. The Suna Genin glared up through overshadowed eyes at his opponent, Sakura stepping back into a stance again, and readying to attack.

"_She's fast… and strong…" _Gaara thought, his right eye twitching, and head ringing from the force of the blow. _"Stronger then that Neji I fought back in the preliminaries…"_

Sakura took off with a sprinter's start, and dashed towards her opponent at incredible speed, which increased on her advance. Gaara quickly assumed a kneeling position and threw both hands out, a wave of sand exploding up from he ground and rising up to flatten his target. The pink haired kunoichi however, vanished in a bat of an eye again, and maneuvered around the wave, reappearing behind Gaara. It was a method of attack she picked up earlier from Naruto, which he used quite proficiently. The red haired boy blinked in surprise and wheeled around, throwing his hand out again, a ten meter high wall of sand shooting up in front of him.

Not at all thrown off by the barrier that suddenly rose up to block her, Sakura ran at it and slammed her foot against it. Seconds later, the audience watched as the pink haired kunoichi sprinted up the vertical incline, reaching the top in no time flat, and jumping down at her opponent. Cranking her right fist back, the girl roared as she descended towards Gaara, who spotted the girl from the shadow she made in front of the sun.

"SHANNARO!" Sakura shouted, thrusting a chakra powered punch straight down on top of the Sunagakure Genin. An umbrella of sand quickly shot up over the boy, and formed several inches thick, the kunoichi's punch colliding with it instead of the user. Her blow was effectively absorbed by the loosely packed defense, with only a ripple forming across the barrier from the punch.

Frustrated at the failed attack, Sakura kicked off of the shield and leapt away, moving out of Gaara's defensive range and skidding to a stop as soon as she was at a safe distance.

She didn't pause for long though, and charged again, not wanting to give her opponent the chance to think or recover.

Gaara moved the wall he had used to try and stop her before in front of him, this time forming a more spherical defense, like an egg shell. As soon as he did so, a spear of sand shot out from it and straight for his target. Sakura, spotting the high velocity spike flying at her, quickly leapt over it and landed on top of it, and began a hard sprint down the moving pillar. Reaching the end, she then leapt right over the small barrier where the spear started from and, with unstoppable momentum powering her own, she rammed into Gaara. His sand armor, though absorbing most of the impact, effectively cracked on the impact as Sakura tackled him.

The girl didn't stop there though.

After lifting Gaara off of his feet with her tackle, she grabbed him by the shoulders then kneed him in the stomach, followed by a swift grappling move, in which she threw him over her shoulder, and drove him straight into the ground. Gaara landed with a loud thud, his gourd splattering into a pile of motionless sand underneath him.

Leaping over the downed red head, Sakura pinned him to the ground by driving her knee into his chest and, grabbing him by the collar, cranked her left fist back, and thrust it straight down into his face.

Her actions weren't fast enough though, when the sand from Gaara's shattered gourd suddenly shot up around him into spikes, launching themselves at the kunoichi. Sakura cried out in pain when she was struck in the shoulders and the side of her face by the spikes, forcing her off of its user. She back flipped away from her opponent when she jumped off of him, and stopped ten meters away once she was sure she was out of his automatic attack range.

Reassuming a defensive stance, Sakura watched as Gaara slowly got back to his feet, his gourd recreating itself on his back.

Face cracked from the blows he sustained, Gaara glared up at the girl, already visibly fatigued by the amount of chakra he had thrown into his sand armor. Sakura frowned, before briefly glancing at herself. She had not only been impaled through her right shoulder and had gashes on her arms from the boy's sand spikes; she also got caught in her right cheek and in the legs. If she hadn't moved when she did, she was certain she would have been skewered.

"_That was close…"_ Sakura thought, looking back up to watch Gaara form a hand seal in front of him and ready himself for her next attack. _"My opponent can attack while defending, which makes approaching him extremely dangerous. I'm sure Neji had the same problem when he fought him…"_ She watched as a cloud of sand formed a defensive ring around her opponent, at the same time, uneven pillars of sand slowly rose up on four different sides of its host, like defensive branches jutting out of the ground. As soon as they fully extended into thick trunks of sand, Sakura deduced that it was just another difficult obstacle she had to get around. _"Oh… great! Just when I was having the time of my life, he goes and does __**that**__…"_

"Sakura-chan has gotten much stronger," Hinata exclaimed, smiling up at Naruto, who was grinning widely. "Y-You trained her to fight like that…?"

"Not me," the blonde Genin shook his head, earning the ear attentions of Kiba and Lee next to him. "She got all that strength and techniques from training with Anko. However, her speed was thanks to a bit of _my_ training." He chuckled when he looked over at Hinata, who was blinking curiously up at him. "However, what really tops off all of her training is that she will _never_ give up. It's something she learned from our team…"

"Amazing!" Temari awed, staring down at the arena with wide eyes, as was everybody else up in the stands. "Her speed and strength have increased so much since her fights in the preliminaries she's actually able to fight around Gaara's defenses."

"Incredible," Tenten shook her head. "I never would have thought Sakura could progress this far…"

"She must be a genius of some kind," Shikamaru commented, earning nods of agreement from Kin and Choji next to him. Neji furrowed his brow as he stared down at the arena floor, unable to take his eyes off of the fight.

"_Even with my Byakugan and flawless Gentle Fist techniques, I couldn't get by his defenses," _Neji gritted his teeth nervously. _"But this girl, she combines technique with incredible strength and speed. That is certainly enough to take down this opponent… if she can hold out long enough…"_

Sakura smirked, licking her lips as she watched Gaara form his defense. "Things have just gotten more interesting…" Reaching for her holsters at her sides, she pulled out her brass knuckles Naruto had given her, and cuffed them. As soon as she did, blue auras of chakra burned up around both her fists, wafting like flames. _"I'm going to have to hit hard and fast to get around that defense. If I have a chance in hell of beating Gaara, then I have to end it with one hit as soon as I get around his shield!"_

Before she had a chance to begin her attack, Gaara's ring of sand suddenly whipped out with a crack of unmatched force, and shot straight at her like a bolt of lightning. Sakura leapt away to avoid it, the attack striking the ground instead, with enough force to split a boulder. Gaara frowned and slapped his hands together into a hand seal, following the girl with his attack. Sakura leapt left and right, avoiding the sliver of sand in pursuit of her.

Eventually getting at a reasonable distance from her opponent, she pulled her left fist back and slammed it against the cloud lunging at her. The blow literally disintegrated a good half of the mass of particles, before the girl took off at full speed towards its user, still surrounded by his fortress of defenses.

The Jonin and Genin in the stands watched, stunned, as Sakura dashed in and around on her approach, ducking around hoops and whips of sand shooting through the air at her from her opponent. It was clear her opponent was a bit under pressure, as noted by Gaara's attempts to take her down. The pink haired kunoichi however, displaying uncanny maneuverability, made it to Gaara's outer defenses relatively unscathed in just a matter of seconds, and with an incredible show of force, slammed a fist through the revolving ring.

Her jab broke through the first line, and she exploded into her opponent's defensive circle. Recovering from the punch, she lunged at her opponent with a second shot. Two pillars that stood around Gaara at his defense slammed together in front of him, shielding him from the girl's incoming fist.

With a primal roar, Sakura's fist connected with the thick wall of sand, the blow sending a shockwave in all directions. The force of her blow was so strong, that the blast of wind from it was felt by the entire audience, whipping at their faces and clothes. Those in the front row had to shield themselves from the debris thrown in their faces. The primary result from this attack though, was that where Sakura's fist hit, the wall-pillar in front of Gaara rippled several times, before eventually cracking and splitting.

The cracks branched out over the entire structure, seconds before the whole thing suddenly caved in, revealing an astonished Gaara standing behind it. His face had also cracked in the same way his secondary defensive wall had, the force of Sakura's punch having traveled through the entire sand wall in front of him, which was about fifteen inches thick, and rattling Gaara's body on the other side as a result.

Sakura grinned as she brought her fist back, standing just several feet in front of her shaken and unguarded opponent.

"And that was only the beginning," she bragged, a bead of sweat running down the side of her face. _"Fuck no it wasn't! I may have coated my hands in chakra, but that hit was like trying to break through several cinder blocks all at once! What the hell is in that sand?"_

Frowning, Gaara's sand suddenly came to life again, although the sand that collapsed in front of him didn't. Sakura reacted quickly when clouds of it suddenly began shooting up around her and her opponent. Springing into action, she crouched low and leapt away as a huge wave of the cloudy mass came from over Gaara's shoulder and slammed into the ground where she was standing a split second before. Flipping through the air, the pink haired girl eventually landed against the side wall of the arena close to the top, crouching against it and glaring down at her recovering target.

Watching from afar, Sakura and the stadium's audience saw the whipping sand around Gaara converge around him, within a matter of seconds form a thick, more prominent defensive barrier around him. Everyone was astounded when they saw Gaara hide his entire body inside a sphere of sand, a sight which shocked Temari out of her seat.

"That's…" the golden haired girl choked. _"If Gaara is resulting to using that shield, then that means his opponent is much stronger then he anticipated…"_

"What is that?" Asuma blinked.

"It appears to be one of his last resort defense systems," Gai thought, rubbing his chin as he analyzed the ball of tightly packed particles forming in the middle of the arena. "So far, he has shown a secondary defense barrier, which can act as an offensive weapon too, and his sand armor, which is his final line of defense. This must be a supplementary defense in order to counter against Sakura's incredible strength."

"He must be really desperate if he's using that then," Anko commented, smirking. "If any one of Sakura's Chakra Enhanced blows hits him, then the fight is basically over… sand or no sand"

Sakura frowned as she looked the defense encasing Gaara over, sweat trickling down her face. _"Okay… definitely not something I want to get close to if his sand automatically reacts to anyone coming within a couple of feet of him." _She noticed a small eyeball appear above the sphere, which looked around a bit like a periscope, before locking onto her. _"He can see __**me?**__ Alright Sakura… calm down. There's only one technique that you have that can break through that thing…"_ She clenched her eyes shut, breathing nervously. _"Naruto taught me for a good part of the year how to create it… and said it was only for last resorts… but I guess the time has come to use it…"_

Letting out a sigh, Sakura held her right hand straight out to her side and grabbed her wrist with her left. She held her arm securely, concentrating hard and beginning to compress her chakra into her next attack. Naruto easily recognized the stance she took to performing the technique, and furrowed his brow, hoping she was confidently down with creating it. Even Hinata noticed the familiar formation of chakra running through her teammate's body, her Byakugan activating to get a better look.

"I-Is that…?"

"Yup," Naruto replied without hearing the rest of the question. _"But can she do it? Out of our entire team, Sakura is the best at molding chakra and utilizing it, and should be able to perform this technique no problem. However, in spite of months of practice, she's only mastered it to an extent that the technique has a seventy-five percent execution of success, compared to a twenty-five percent that it will rebound."_ The blonde sweat dropped. _"Gaara's defenses are too strong, even for her… so she's resulting to using that technique?"_

The audience watched in astonishment when blue chakra suddenly appeared hovering outside of Sakura's palm. The twisting wind energy formed into what became a small, golf-ball sized version of Naruto's Rasengan, which grew a bit more in size on its appearance. The Third Hokage and Jiraiya blinked in astonishment when they saw the pink haired kunoichi create the Forth Hokage's secret technique so quickly… or… what looked like the Forth's technique, with Kakashi also reacting in surprise.

"So… she's using _that_ technique," Anko grinned. "I hope she can hold it together…"

"What is that? The Rasengan?" Kakashi asked, looking at Anko. "I didn't know she could use that technique…"

"It's not," Anko replied, looking over at the Jonin. Gai, Asuma and Kurenai turned to her, seeing the smirk etched on her face. "Sakura wasn't able to master the Rasengan within a month. She was only able to get to the second stage, giving the technique power… and was unable to master the third stage; maintaining its shape. So… she improvised on Naruto's technique, by having it work with her attacks…"

Just as she said that, the small ball that Sakura held in her hand suddenly expanded, the shape it was able to hold for just a few seconds breaking up and becoming an uneven, twisting mass of energy. The wind chakra then suddenly ran over her entire hand and down her arm, till it covered her entire limb to the elbow. The twisting blue energy whipped around her arm and began wafting off of it, as she used her chakra to sheath it and keep its shape.

The kunoichi found it much easier to control the technique Naruto taught her directly from her body, which she used in the same manner for her _Cherry Blossom Impact_, as she was unable to maintain the Rasengan's form for very long with just her hands.

Clenching her extended hand, the twisting wind around her arm increased in ferocity, the girl smirking and looking down at her opponent.

"Let's begin…" With that said, she sprung to action, shooting straight down to the arena floor and dashing across the arena, charging straight for Gaara. With her right arm glowing brightly with blue energy and whipping violently through the air, the audience rose to their feet as they watched the girl open up with her attack.

"Well… what does the technique do?" Kakashi asked, looking at Anko with worry. The woman chuckled and sat back, observing as her student rushed Gaara's defense in the middle of the arena.

"Unlike Naruto's Rasengan, which attacks the body at a cellular and surface level by grinding into the target, before killing the opponent by sending them away with the twisting blast of the compression of wind energy, Sakura's technique combines the first two stages of the Rasengan with her Chakra Enhanced Strength. What do you think happens?" Anko grinned.

Asuma blinked and looked at Kakashi, who was also thinking the same thing.

"The wind chakra creates rotation, which increases speed and strength of techniques… that means…combined with Sakura's technique…" Asuma sweat dropped.

"She basically decimates any obstacle she hits…"

Sakura lunged as soon as she reached Gaara's defensive ball, thrusting her Rasengan powered hit straight towards his shield of sand. As expected, spikes jutted out at high velocity to counter, but Sakura ducked through them, and followed through with her technique.

"_**Sky Blossom Impact!"**_ Sakura roared.

Her fist struck the barrier, and as soon as it did, everything around her seemed to go _**up**_, literally.

An explosion of incredible magnitude shook the entire arena. A shockwave and continuous blasts of wind ripped at Gaara's defensive sphere, tearing it apart. The energy and power that rippled out from the impact point relentlessly attacked the stands where the audience sat as well, who braced themselves against the raging storm. Those in the front row were astounded at the force displayed, with the proctor, who was getting the worst of it for actually being in the arena, shielding her face with one arm, and looking to see what was happening.

"Man… what a hit!" Ryoko exclaimed, feeling the debris and dirt wrack at her body.

Debris, rubble and dust clouded the entire floor, the Kages watching from high above leaning forward with anticipation to see what had happened. The Genin, who were watching as well, gawked, stunned at what they had just witnessed, and continued to do so as the dust clouding the arena started to lift, and reveal what had happened.

Sakura was kneeling several meters away from where she previously stood in confrontation to her target's defense, panting heavily and gripping her right arm, which was cut up and damaged. Hissing, she took her left hand and sheathed it in green chakra, beginning to heal the wounds around her right limb.

Though most of the Genin up in the waiting area were astonished by the display of strength, Naruto chuckled when he spotted Sakura healing herself.

"_Well… the attack was successful, except for a bit of rebound,"_ the blonde slipped his hands into his pockets as he thought. _"I'm surprised she didn't break her arm. When used against the regular Rasengan, her technique is clearly the stronger… which I found out the hard way."_ He tipped his head a little, memories of his training during the month coming back to him. _"Her newly named Sky Blossom Impact is a one hit, take-out move, which can only be used once. It uses up a lot of chakra, and can damage the user's arm as a result of the high rotation and execution. I can see why she would prefer to just use her fists then __**that**__ attack…"_

When the dust cleared up more, Sakura herself was able to see the results of her attack. A massive trench expanding outwards from the impact point could be seen, the ground cracked and split. Against the wall of the arena that bared the brunt of the attack, the girl saw that it was covered in sand, with a small impact crater the exact shape of her fist punched into the side.

Gaara was slumped limply against the damaged wall, staggering to his feet and groaning in agony. Gripping the side of his head, the boy stumbled away from the concrete wall behind him, as sand poured out of every crack and crevice of it, as well as crumble off of him. The red haired Genin panted and looked up towards his opponent, to see if she herself was still alive.

Sakura was in a similar state of exhaustion and damage as he was. Gaara's sand armor may have protected him for the most part, but he was completely drained as a result, his entire body rattled by the force of the impact. Furthermore, as the Suna Genin limped around in the trench, leaking sand, he was also seeing colors that weren't natural, as well as a hazy blur.

Rising to her feet, Sakura let her right arm hang, and instead, lifted her left arm in response to seeing her opponent still alive and breathing, chakra radiating off of her fist.

"Want more?"

Gaara, stepping out of the trench, frowned and glared at his opponent.

He quickly reconsidered the attack he was hit with, and given the condition of his opponent, didn't feel like being hit by another one of those a second time if she was able. However, he also felt that he had plenty of chakra to carry on the fight longer, his sand rising back up to him and reforming into his gourd. His closely packed armor also began repairing itself as he eyed his target carefully, who was barely managing to hold her ground herself.

But then, after the next few minutes of nerve-rattling suspense, Gaara glared up towards the Kage stands, seeing his 'father' sitting in the middle of them and watching in anticipation. The red haired Genin then looked over at Naruto, watching the fight with a concerned look on his own face and wondering what was going to happen next.

After a few moments of consideration, Gaara turned back to his opponent, facing her front on.

"I quit…" He mumbled, turning heel and heading back to the stairs.

Sakura's jaw dropped. "Wha…"

Gaara stopped briefly and looked over at the kunoichi. A smile crossed his lips. "As much as I would like to continue this fight… I don't feel up to it anymore. Although… I'd probably win with you struggling to stand where you are… I would much rather give you this victory today…" He turned back around and headed the rest of the way over to the exit, and went up the stairs to the waiting room.

Sakura blinked. _"Holy shit… I just dodged a bullet…" _The girl then collapsed to her knees. _"Man… any longer and I would have been put into intensive care…"_

Ryoko chuckled when she saw Sakura fall over, and raised her arm. "Winner, Sakura Haruno!"

The audience murmured amongst themselves in confusion for several seconds, but then began applauding Sakura's efforts. As soon as the victor was announced, Naruto and Hinata hopped over the railings and went over to help their teammate; amidst the applause and cheering she began receiving.

Naruto crouched down beside Sakura and checked her arm, the girl still breathing heavily in exhaustion, yet allowing the original master of the Rasengan to look her over. At the same time, Hinata pulled out some bandages and ointment for Sakura's wounds from her pouch, seeing how damaged she really was.

Naruto raised an eyebrow and looked at his teammate. "Held onto the attack any longer and your arm would have been ripped apart…" Sakura grinned sheepishly up at her boyfriend, who smiled and pressed his forehead against hers. "Why don't we just put a pin in the _Sky Blossom Impact_, and pop it onto the drawing board for now…eh?"

"Sure…" Sakura chuckled back, and kissed him on the cheek.

"Congratulations…"

Hinata smiled up at Sakura as she bandaged her arm, eyes twinkling. "You really are lucky, S-Sakura-chan…"

"To be honest, I don't think I would have been able to hack it if Gaara continued with the fight," Sakura sighed, feeling Hinata quickly apply the ointment, before wrapping her arm up tightly. She also felt her adrenaline produced from the fight plummet, making her realize how exhausted she actually was. "He's still the stronger of the two of us…"

"You did well though," Hinata smiled happily up at the girl, who smiled back.

"Oh well…" Anko sighed, lying back and finally able to relax from the drama. "It was fun while it lasted…"

"Sakura has gotten much stronger though. That much is clear," Kakashi commented, smiling. "She's progressed just as much as Ino has…"

"But Gaara was still able to continue fighting. Why did he just quit?" Kurenai asked, furrowing her brow. "That boy could have kept up the battle, and perhaps turn it in his favor, given his abilities."

"Maybe he couldn't hack it either," Asuma shrugged. "Regardless, the victor has been decided."

The Third Hokage smiled and sighed, relieved that the fight didn't carry on into a more bloody battle. He turned to the Kazekage, who was also sitting back, looking a bit disappointed under his veil. The old man smiled as he looked at his old friend, while Mei sitting on the other side, smiled and clapped in delight at such an entertaining battle.

"It was rather unfortunate your son quit," Hiruzen said, smiling. "But it was a good fight…"

"Yes… it was," the man sighed. Meanwhile, underneath his layers of masks, the man was seething. _"Dammit all to hell… that boy didn't follow through with the plan!"_

The Kazekage glared over at Sarutobi when he turned his head, with Jiraiya smiling on the sidelines with his arms folded, unaware of the Sand leader's boiling frustration. _"The next chance I get… I'll take the Third and drag him into the barrier. Perhaps the distraction of this next round will give me the chance I need…"_

_

* * *

_

_**Round 4…**_

While Hinata helped Sakura out of the ring, Naruto stayed behind, and took his place right next to Ryoko. The red haired woman smirked down at him ad wished him luck, before calling in Takagura, the boy rather enthusiastically, but not verbally showing it, jumping over the railing and landing on the arena floor soundlessly. He marched over to where the pair stood, and took his spot on the proctor's other side. Once he arrived, the two Genin stepped forward and faced each other, glaring at one another, with Naruto from under the shadow of his wide-brimmed hat, and Takagura from under his hood.

The Genin up in the waiting area and those in the audience watched and waited with their breaths held. All those who were there, knew that Temari had been easily taken out by her opponent with just a single blow, and that if the Kiri Genin was as strong as he really was, then Naruto was in for the fight of his life.

The audience was also watching on in interest. After hearing about their resident jinchuriki's many escapades, his numerous successful missions, and the news that he had made it this far into the exams, had perked a lot of interests. Murmuring began to echo around the crowd, with the adults passing on positive comments to each other about the boy, with rumors of how strong he really was being thrown about as well.

"Isn't that the loudmouth brat from the academy?"

"Looks like it…"

"You know I heard that he defeated that mercenary bomber from Iwa in Wave Country…"

"That S-Rank criminal Deidara?"

"Yup!"

"Yeah! Not to mention the proctor standing right next to him. He actually fought against her."

"Oh yeah, I heard about that too. She was one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen from Kiri, and he and his team helped bring her down."

"If he was able to get this far in the exams, that means he's a lot stronger then he appears."

Temari looked around her, particularly over her shoulders in the direction of where Kotetsu and Izumo sat. Of course, this was just by coincidence. She was more interested in the opinions of a lot of the parents she noted to be sitting in that general direction. _"Hmm… it looks like a lot of the people that doubted Naruto before are starting to lighten up a bit. I heard from Rin-san that a lot of the villagers in Konoha despised him… but after hearing the stories about Naruto and his team… they're starting to see him in a completely new light…"_

"Give him some credit for getting this far," Kotetsu chuckled. "Anko really pushed him a lot in their training. Wait… scratch that! She put _**a lot**_ of pressure on her _**entire**_ team…"

"Not to mention the brat got a lot of training from Jiraiya-sama," Izumo said, smirking over at his friend. "Oh, did you see the look on Ibiki's face when he checked Naruto's test sheet? Man… it was priceless! His sheet was covered in profanity and drawings of boobs! He even included some new swear words I'd never heard of before…"

"Really? Like what?" Kotetsu asked.

"Oh, well you know the MILF statements and interjections you usually curse out, well…there is the big one with the 'f', but instead of your mom, it's a sister equivalent. He came up with a completely new word involving three members of the family…"

"What is it? I'll use it on open-mike night down at the bar," Kotetsu nudged, pulling out his notepad. Temari sweat dropped and sighed, before smiling back down at the arena.

"_Same old Naruto… you give him a plate and ask for a chocolate cake, and he gives you a whole banana cake…"_

The Third Hokage chuckled as he watched Naruto stare down his opponent, with the Kazekage also looking down at the arena floor with great interest. Jiraiya was quite intrigued by how his apprentice's fight will go, and was looking down at Minato's look-a-like with a smile on his face. As Jiraiya marveled at his student's show of confidence, at the same time, Hiruzen turned to look over at Mei, who was also giving the two combatants her utmost attention.

"I believe the boy down there is one of your own, Mizukage-sama?" the Third queried.

"It looks like it, yes!" the woman smiled, glancing over at Konoha's leader, while Ao was leaning up against the wall, arms folded, and focusing on the arena down below. "I'm surprised to see that Takagura made it this far into the exams! I heard he was mostly a sensor type ninja, a natural talent he picked up back in the academy. He didn't have much taijutsu or ninjutsu techniques under his belt, but he was an expert at kenjutsu!"

"Not a ninjutsu specialist, huh?" Hiruzen pondered, sitting back into his chair and staring down at the Genin across from Naruto. His thoughts reran the final round that took place in the preliminaries leading up to the Third Stage of the Exams, where the Kiri Genin fought the Suna kunoichi with little effort, perhaps none at all. This, and the Mizukage's statement, supported his conclusion that Kirigakure had no knowledge of the actual Genin now participating in the exams whatsoever.

"_If that's true, then that means that the Kiri Team progressing through these tests really are a rogue group… and Kirigakure has no involvement in the infiltration. This is bad…" _Sarutobi thought, scratching his chin.

Ryoko smirked, hands in her pockets as she chewed quietly on a reed she had stuck into her mouth. "If there are no objections between you two," she exclaimed, looking over at a smiling Naruto, then back over towards the ever stoic Takagura, the red head then raised her arm, and swiftly lowered it, "you may begin!"

She leapt away, giving them some distance for their squabble. It was at the announcement of the fight the entire audience hushed up all at once, and focused all their attention on the two Genin in front of them. The shinobi sitting in the crowds flocking the stands also leaned in, literally gripping their seats as the tension of the coming battle grew.

The moment Ryoko announced the beginning of their round, Takagura reached out from under his cloak with his right hand, grabbed the scruff of his collar, and ripped the entire outer layer of clothing off, throwing it onto the wind. This actions surprised Naruto, and when he saw the boy rip off his disguise, the Kiri Genin grabbed the cane off of his back and spun it several times around him, before driving the thick end into the ground, splitting the rock solid earth on impact.

The boy wore standard black ninja attire, a black mesh shirt and vest, with a green battle dress and a thick, forest green scarf around his neck. Instead of sandals, he wore brown, calf high boots, and had a green sash around his waist. Pale white skin revealed itself to the world, with his stitched, scarred eye flashing under the sunlight, and his unkempt gray hair whipping around him wildly.

It was at the full sight of the boy, Ryoko had no doubt that Takagura was the spitting image of Yagura, perhaps even the former Kage himself.

"_His eyes however… they're different…"_ the woman thought, watching as the boy glared across at his opponent.

Naruto also noted the color of Takagura's eyes.

Instead of pink, they were now a sickly grey.

"Oh my God… you actually _**do**_ have a scarred eye!" Naruto chuckled.

Of course… Naruto, being the unpredictable shinobi he was, chose to focus on different areas to lighten his mood.

"Is this real? Is this really happening?" the blonde shinobi laughed. "This is ridicules! All that's missing is the evil kitten and the chair you can swivel around in!"

About half the audience fell flat over animated style, whereas the other half just sweat-dropped, including the Jonin and the Kages, as Naruto continued laughing his head off. Shikamaru sighed and slapped his face.

"_Is he high?"_

"So… heh-heh… you want to dance?" Naruto grinned, shaking off from his fits of laughter and straightening up. Swiftly, he reached for his trench-knife on his shoulder and drew it, the blade flashing in the sun. His weapon gleamed brilliantly as he twirled it in a single handed grip and assumed a fighting stance, blade held in a backwards grip. "Let's go…"

"I can sense… you are incredibly powerful," Yagura spoke; his voice shallow and filled with absolutely no emotions whatsoever. Heck, he didn't even react to Naruto's comments, which had turned a lot of heads in the audience. His words shook his opponent out of his reverie, causing him to furrow his brow at the emptiness in his voice. "You are more powerful then before. Conclusively, I shall have the pleasure of killing you… to eliminate you as a threat!"

All of a sudden, he popped his staff with another jab to the ground, the top hook with the flower at the end suddenly skyrocketing upwards, a chain keeping the hook attached to the staff. Naruto watched the hook soar high above him, stunned, the chain suddenly whipping around, and the blade coming straight down towards him.

The Konoha Genin leapt away as fast as he could, the dangerous projectile striking the ground where he stood seconds before, the impact exploding upwards with rubble and dust. Yagura leapt through the dust cloud and ran after Naruto, the blonde retreating from the impact point and his attacking opponent.

Stopping a safe distance away, Naruto blinked in shock, his opponent still running after him. _"His staff also functions as a spring-loaded Kusarigama! That's insane!" H_e had little time to raise a complaint though, when Yagura slashed at him from a distance with his chained weapon, the hook slicing through the air at a high velocity, straight towards the boy.

Naruto leapt straight up to his left, avoiding the swipe and disappearing into the trees surrounding the back half of the arena. Yagura followed his target with his eyes, slashing his hooked Kusarigama back around him and slicing out at the tree tops. With a single swipe, he sheered the top halves of three trees standing in a row with one slice, leaving them flat tops. He struck again, then again, and again, the last strike slicing them down at a diagonal angle, the trunks keeling over like dominos.

The blonde shinobi leapt out of hiding as his tree started to collapse, flipping through the air and drawing clusters of kunai from his pouch. Gritting his teeth, he flung them straight down towards his opponent while still airborne, whose chained weapon was still extended after the executed attack. However, a split second before his kunai hit, Yagura swiftly brought his staff around, the chain from his weapon curling through the air around him, and effectively blocking the barrage. The kunai slammed against the chain one after the other, clanging loudly before being knocked away.

"Shit!" Naruto shouted, spinning through the air and landing on the ground a great distance away, crouching to absorb the impact. _"That won't work… but… then again…"_ "Let's see you try that successively!" The blonde roared, his hands suddenly being filled with clusters of shuriken from his sleeves, which he then threw all at once at his opponent. The ninja stars curved through the air as they cut towards their target.

Yagura's staff withdrew the Kusarigama blade back into it to form a single weapon once again. Swiftly, and displaying incredible speed with such a heavy looking staff, the boy began spinning his weapon around him with spectacular skill, blocking the onslaught of shuriken, and at the same time, charging at his opponent. Naruto ran left, beginning to circle his opponent and moving to the center of the arena, tossing shuriken three after three at his opponent. The young former Kage effectively blocked them all, showing the same ferocity as he did before when blocking the first barrage of nine ninja stars. The weapons bounced off his flailing staff spinning around him like a copter blade, with little effect, as Yagura approached his opponent.

Skidding to a stop, Naruto leapt back when Yagura swung his staff around and brought it straight down on top of the blonde when in range, the thick end striking the ground and splitting it with a loud bang. Leaping backwards, the blonde pulled back his right sleeve and cranked his gauntlet, taking aim.

"TRY THIS!" A loud gunshot was heard as Naruto simultaneously fired off a kunai at the boy while in mid-air, who barely managed to block the high velocity kunai with his staff. But as the kunai fell away right in front of the boy, still locked in his parry, a tag unfurled from around its handle.

Yagura blinked in surprise, spotting the danger at the last second.

_**BOOOOM!**_ The tag detonated with tremendous force, staggering the jinchuriki.

Naruto landed twenty meters away from his opponent from the propulsion provided by his gauntlet firing, taking a defensive stance and glaring intensely into the dust and smoke formed by the explosion of his paper bomb.

"_That had to at least faze him…"_

As he was watching the cloud fade, he suddenly spotted a shadow growing around him, forcing him to look up. Unexpectedly, he saw Yagura descending straight down towards him, staff spinning around in his grip above his head, cutting through the air with loud swooshing sounds echoing off of it. Naruto swiftly redrew his trench knife, and blocked the downward strike, the loud clang and shockwave following, cracking the ground at the blonde's feet as he felt his whole body shake from stopping the blow. Yagura landed in front of him and began lashing out at him with his staff with swift, powerful strikes, Naruto forced to back off quickly, blocking each incoming strike expertly.

The two began an incredible, close-combat duel, staff verses knife, with Naruto ducking and blocking every single attack Yagura attempted. The boy's staff spun around him with superb speed and precision, but regardless of his proficiency with it, he just could not get past Naruto's defenses, as the blonde backed up, circled and avoided every blow thrown at him. The clanging of metal against metal rang out, with sparks flying between the two combatants, jumping and sprinting left and right across the arena.

Spinning his staff around him again, Yagura struck at Naruto, only to carve a trench into the solid earth as a result, Naruto leaping out of the way and sliding to a stop. He spun his knife around in his grip and brought it up into a forward hold, blade flashing. Yagura came back around, sprinting at the boy and swinging straight across at him with his weapon. Naruto carefully timed himself, and then dashed at him in response, ducking low under the swung and sliding right between Yagura's legs. After passing right underneath his opponent, Naruto sprang back to his feet and sprinted away.

Yagura spun around and swung out with his staff, but ended up hitting nothing. Watching his opponent retreat, the grey haired boy gritted his teeth in frustration and thumped his staff into the ground, the top hook flying off once again. Spinning the chained weapon around him, he thrust it outwards, attempting to catch his opponent on his blind side.

Naruto heard the swishing of the hook and ducked just in time in his sprint, avoiding having his head sliced off by the weapon. He then forward flipped several times, and leapt off of the ground, flying straight up and landing against the side of the arena wall, crouching against it. He then flipped over so that he had his back pressed up against the wall, and sprawled out comfortably like a spider, glaring down at his opponent.

Yagura swung his hook around him, spinning it at a high velocity as he ran after his opponent. Seconds later, he slashed out with the hook at the end of the chain, slicing at the blonde perched against the wall thirty meters away. The blonde Genin back-flipped up the wall, avoiding the hook as it came skidding across the concrete, leaving a wide gash in its side. Yagura swung the hook around some more and continued slashing out at Naruto at his thirty meter distance, slicing up the wall as the blonde crawled across it, hopping around and avoiding the flailing hook. Eventually, Naruto ended up crouched against the wall, and sprang forward, flying through the air and straight down towards Yagura.

Flipping acrobatically while in mid-air, Naruto thrust a kick straight up, sending his hidden kunai in his sandal flying at his opponent. Yagura withdrew his hook swiftly and spun it around him, the chain deflecting the incoming knife with a loud clang, before the hook spun back around and went flying at the airborne Genin. Naruto back flipped on his descent, barely avoiding the flower donned weapon that flew up at him, and landed with a loud thud right in front of his opponent, crouching to avoid injury from the fall or his opponent.

Exploding into movement, the blonde cranked his right hand back, hidden-blade shooting out of his sleeve. He struck out at his opponent, clashing against the swings of the staff as Yagura backed away, defending from his target's attacks. Sparks flew as metal sliced against metal, the pair dancing and spinning around each other as they clashed in the middle of the arena.

The audience awed at the speed and ferocity of both Genin, watching them sprint in all directions across the arena's surface and meet each other when they crossed paths, weapons clanging loudly with sparks flashing. Temari was astounded that Naruto was able to fight Takagura head to head, while she, despite her best efforts, was knocked out in one blow. The other Genin watching beside her were also astounded, Neji having activated his Byakugan in order to better capture their movements.

"Kami, they're fast!" Tenten blinked, shaking her head as she watched Naruto zip-line left and right before lunging at Yagura, his hidden blade locking with the Kiri Genin's staff, both weapons grinding into each other in the grapple. "Good thing that weapon of his is strong…"

"Their movements are so much alike," Neji commented, furrowing his brow as he watched them break off and sprint around in a full circle before charging at each other again, and thrust their weapons at their target. They passed each other in the center, sparks flying with three loud clangs heard, when it only looked like they struck at their opponent once. "They're both fighting equally in terms of speed, technique and power…"

"Naruto is starting to see how Takagura fights," Kin nodded her head, gritting her teeth when she watched the blonde barely avoiding a series of swings from Yagura's staff, before he leapt at him and sent a spinning side-kick into his chest, knocking the boy staggering away with the blow. "He's analyzing his opponent's style, and is countering it with his own."

"Unbelievable," Shikamaru whispered blinking in disbelief as he watched Naruto run rings around his opponent before leaping at him with a roundhouse kick through the air, Yagura ducking and countering, only for the blonde to grab his staff on the swing and flip over it, kicking at the boy's head at the same time. That blow really knocked the Kiri Genin for a loop. "Naruto is…actually _**learning**_ how to fight his opponent, while he's fighting!"

Anko smirked as the other Jonin beside her watched on in astonishment. _"Naruto was at first running from his opponent but now… he's learned to get in close, and is matching him blow for blow. It won't be long now till his opponent starts running from him…"_

There was a loud thud when Naruto's jab and elbow landed against Yagura in a tackle, the boy slamming himself into his opponent after ducking under a staff strike. The grey haired boy skidded back along the ground, having taken the blow in both his chest and face. Staggering, he glared up through gritted teeth, and seethed angrily as his opponent landed, before the blonde rushed at him.

The Kiri Genin had noticed that his opponent had started fighting back right after he leapt off of the wall to evade his long-range attacks, and began fighting more at an enclosed distance, having come to the idea that he couldn't use his Kusarigama at such close quarters.

Shouting angrily, Yagura swung his staff out at Naruto, who ducked straight under it so fast that it looked as though he disappeared. Suddenly, the blonde reappeared right underneath the boy, and with an incredible show of strength, kicked the boy skywards. The grey haired former Kage skyrocketed from the blow, winded, with Naruto forming a single hand seal as he crouched from where he had kicked.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Twelve shadow clones burst up around him, and leapt into the air, flying straight up towards their opponent. His training with the boulders and heavy weights gave him the ability to literally soar through the air at high speed with little effort, and had increased his speed significantly. As a result, when he jumped straight up, he rocketed at the speed of kunai.

When the clones reached Yagura, one after the other, they hammered kicks right into their target's abdomen, sending him further and further skywards with each blow. They kicked him so far up that Yagura was literally hanging suspended a kilometer above the arena. The audience rose to their feet to follow the astonishing battle, now taking to the skies above their heads.

Watching his clones dispel, Naruto grinned and knelt down low, before leaping straight after Yagura, his ascent stunning the entire crowd.

"HE'S FLYING!" Tenten shouted.

"Incredible," Kakashi murmured, watching the blonde disappear after his opponent. "Where did he learn to do that?"

"YOSH! A Strong body and strong legs mean you can 'jump good'!" Gai shouted, thrusting his fist out. "GO NARUTO!"

Yagura, still airborne, glared down towards the arena below with wide eyes as his opponent flew towards him at high speed. Maneuvering through the air, Yagura lashed out with his staff, swinging with his Kusarigama at his target, only for his hook to miss when the blonde maneuvered around it and spun through the air, sending a kick straight up into his face. The grey haired boy was knocked into a flip from the blow, the two of them soon beginning their descent. The Kiri shinobi recovered though, and turned through the air to face his opponent, who was falling at a several meters distance from him, upright and glaring back.

Though not in his element, Yagura decided to confront his opponent. However, Naruto surprised him yet again when he threw both his hands behind him, his palms suddenly exploding with blue wind chakra. Like rocket thrusters, the blasts of wind chakra from his hands propelled the blonde straight towards his opponent at high speed, flipping and twisting him through the air on his approach.

Lunging at his target, Naruto then lashed out with his combat blade, Yagura meeting him with powerful swings of his staff. With excellent speed and maneuverability, Naruto clashed with the boy, coming at him from all sides as he was thrown off with every attack the two threw at each other and collided in mid air, and returned with even more ferocity to each strike. Sparks flew from loud clangs and shockwaves echoing out from between them, the two shinobi fighting it all out, hundreds of meters above the ground, while they fell.

The Kages, who were sitting atop of the roof, were looking up with astonishment, as they could see the two shinobi fighting and plummeting back towards the ground together. Jiraiya was also watching on from beside Hiruzen, quietly awing at the sight of the firefight above him.

"_That boy continues to surprise me. He's able to fight his opponent anywhere, whether on water, on land… or even in the sky…"_

Yagura roared as he lashed at Naruto with his staff, only for the blonde to kick it aside and lunge at the grey haired jinchuriki, slamming his feet into his face and down onto his stomach. He repeatedly kicked him in the limbs and mid-section, making sure he was staggered before rearing back with his right fist, and slamming Yagura straight across the face, sending his opponent plummeting at a far greater speed straight towards the ground.

The audience watched in awe as the Kiri Genin literally broke the sound barrier three times before eventually colliding with the earth in the middle of the arena. His impact with the ground sent an explosive blast of dust, debris and rubble rocketing two stories high, with Naruto grinning at the success of his assault. The crowds in the stands shielded themselves from the blast of wind that rippled out from the Genin's crash landing, with the other shinobi in the waiting area looking down at the arena with wide eyes, wondering if Takagura was still alive.

However, just as Naruto fell towards the arena floor, he was shocked when he suddenly saw a pillar of water shoot out from the impact crater and part the dust cloud. That jet of water expanded and transformed into a two story fountain, which began filling up the arena and transforming it into a small lake.

Quickly using his wind chakra from his hands to maneuver himself through the air, Naruto pushed himself over to the arena wall and landed at the very top. Landing into a crouched position, he looked down and watched as his opponent summoned a lake's worth of water into the arena and began filling it to up, Ryoko bobbing up and down on its surface and watching the water level rise, waves crashing against the arena walls.

"_Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave,"_ Naruto thought, recognizing the technique from sight alone. The mists of condensing water generated from the uproar of the new arena lake, and the dust from Yagura's crash landing, vanished, leaving Yagura standing atop of the water right in the center and in plain sight, glaring up at his opponent.

The audience and the Genin noticed that he no longer had his staff, and had received quite a bit of damage from the impact from his fall. He was bleeding from the corner of his lip, his outfit was tattered, and he was badly bruised up and covered in dirt. Naruto was also a bit bruised himself from his hand-to-hand battle with his opponent, but didn't take as many hits as Yagura had.

"Oh… you're still alive," Naruto smirked, raising an eyebrow down at his opponent. "Ready for a second round?"

Yagura didn't say a word. Instead, he slapped his hands together into a series of hand seals before thrusting his right palm down to the water at his feet, grabbing his wrist with his left hand. All of a sudden, the water around him became drawn to the center of his palm, the liquid spinning at a high velocity in his very hand, forming a water version of the Sharingan. The small vortex sphere continued sucking up large quantities of the lake in the arena around him. If the appearance of his Water Release technique from the ground didn't astound the audience, then his next technique did, as he drained the entire arena in whirlpool like fashion, and compressed all of the water into the palm of his hand.

Naruto felt an incredible influx of chakra come from his opponent, and gritted his teeth. _"Shit… that's definitely not going to be a regular water bomb!"_ Throwing both his hands out, the blonde's wind chakra began to circulate at his palms, quickly forming a Rasengan in both his hands, each of them growing to the size of bowling balls. The amount of energy he generated created a small tornado of wind to form up around him, which dispersed at the production of his duel technique.

Furrowing his brow, he glared down at his opponent, who had now completely drained the entire arena, and was now holding his mini vortex water sphere out to his right side, his chakra giving it shape and maintaining it.

Grinning, the blonde nodded. "LET'S GO!"

Leaping off of the side of the wall, Naruto dove straight at his opponent, gathering speed on his descent. Yagura assumed a well balanced stance and took aim, bringing his hand around and waiting for his opponent to get into range. The blonde twisted through the air, cranking his right hand around and, with a roar, lunged down at his opponent, the sphere of wind in his hand swirling violently.

"RASENGAN!"

"WATER VORTEX TECHNIQUE!" Yagura shouted, thrusting his attack upwards to meet Naruto's.

The moment their two spheres collided, shockwaves ripped out from in between them, followed by continuous blasts of wind and a hurricane to generate around them, as Water Release met Wind Release. Naruto continued to hover above the ground, diving at his opponent with his one attack, grinding it against the sphere of water slicing away at his own. The compression of both wind and water caused excessive hurricane blast winds to ripple between them, tearing up the ground and the air space around them, as well as hyper condensation of water, which also contributed to the damage.

The audiences in the stand were hit by a tremendous gale of wind, which sprayed them with water and debris from the arena below as the two super Genin ground their attacks into one another. The Genin in the front row had the worst time in hell, since they were the closest to the raging energies outputted by the two attacks colliding. The Jonin also had to brace themselves against the winds, but not as much as everybody else. The Genin in the waiting stands however, had a hard time keeping their positions against the railings, and were blown back further into the room.

As Naruto continued to press on with his attack, he noticed that Yagura's water vortex technique was giving way to his Rasengan, as noted by the extreme warping in its shape. Unable to maintain the vortex technique, the grey haired former Kage suddenly staggered back, when the sphere he was holding suddenly exploded like a bubble, water droplets shooting out in all directions before suddenly becoming suspended in mid-air. At the same time, Naruto's first Rasengan dropped as he fell to the ground.

Landing, the blond wasted no time in lunging with the second Rasengan he prepared, swinging it around before thrusting it straight at Yagura's wide open chest.

"EAT THIS!" he roared, throwing the air sphere straight into the boy. The blast that followed sent a second shockwave over the arena, splitting the ground as well as cracking the surrounding walls. Seconds later, after the attack grinded into Yagura, the boy was then blasted off of his feet, twisting in the tornado that sent him flying into the arena wall. Whipping through the air, the former Kage then slammed straight into the concrete, sprawling out on the crash that would have broken every bone in his body. Seconds later, his lifeless body fell away, leaving a nice indent and a small impact crater where he hit.

Naruto panted at finally being able to level his opponent, Ryoko standing at a safe distance away and watching with her arms crossed in observation. She raised her eyebrow when she watched the spiky haired blonde straighten up and begin walking over to where his opponent had fallen.

"_I'd take more then that to take Yagura down…" _Ryoko thought, furrowing her brow. _"Naruto certainly knows that. So far… the scar-faced brat has only been fighting under his __**own**__ power…"_

Just as Naruto was still walking towards the far end of the arena, the audience, still stunned from the clash of powers, followed the blonde as he made his way across. However, the suspense died out when the blonde stopped and looked on in surprise when he saw the silhouette of Yagura rising behind a cloud of dust. When that dust cloud dissipated, the boy revealed himself to be in the same state as before, with only one difference.

The clothes at his chest were torn open, but instead of human skin seen underneath, the crowd was shocked to see the underside of a turtle shell shielding him, with the burn marks from Naruto's Rasengan seen engraved in the bone hard surface. Slowly, that mark disappeared as it healed itself, Yagura glaring stoically towards his opponent, who stood at a safe distance from him.

"Well… that's certainly not good…" Naruto murmured.

Just when he said that, a circle of shadow loomed over Yagura for several seconds, before the cloaked figure of the Kiri Genin's Jonin sensei unexpectedly dropped down from the top of the arena wall, and landed right next to his student. Though he had fought valiantly so far, the '_Takagura's'_ team leader decided to step in now to stop the fight, and as soon as he appeared right next to the grey haired boy, he rose to his feet and grinned up at Naruto, who stepped back at the sight of the towering Jonin in surprise.

"You're right there… brat!"

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	41. The Leaf Under Seige

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_The Leaf Under Seige_

"Hikita!" Ryoko shouted, appearing right beside Naruto, sword drawn and thrust in the towering man's direction. _Aries_ seemed to hum with energy on its draw.

The blonde Genin looked between the two former members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist cautiously, easily able to spot the fires of anger and rage burning in his friend's eyes, as well as the evil radiating off of her bigger counterpart. It was at this sight, he backed off a bit more, giving them some space.

It was at the sight of the Kiri Jonin on the arena floor that had everybody in the stadium rise to their feet, the Genin in the crowd rushing up to the railings overlooking the battlefield, and straight down towards the wall where the two sides confronted each other. The Jonin also jogged down the steps to the frontlines, Anko, Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai and Gai stopping by the railings and glaring down towards the big, hooded shinobi standing at the aid of his student.

Even the Kage up in their seats were caught by surprise, Hiruzen rising to a standing position with Jiraiya stepping forward to get a better look. However, out of the three of them, it was Mei who was looking the most startled. She rose from her seat at the very sight of the big Jonin, with Ao and Chojuro moving forward, stepping in front of her as bodyguard should.

"That chakra!" Ao choked, gritting his teeth as he glared down at the new face standing in the light far below. "I'd recognize it anywhere!"

"That's Hikita-sensei!" Chojuro stammered, adjusting his glasses. "No doubt…"

"But…w-what on earth is he doing in this village?" Mei stammered.

In truth, the Mizukage was incredibly surprised when she recognized the Kiri Genin as her village's former Kage, Yagura, having not expected Takagura to throw off his low profile robe and unveil a face that looked exactly like him. However, she had said nothing throughout the entire battle, choosing to watch to see what events unfolded, and it wasn't until she noticed the strange shield that appeared on the boy's body to reflect Naruto's attack that she confirmed her suspicions that Takagura was indeed Yagura in the flesh, alive and well.

"Your village has been deceived, Mizukage-sama," Sarutobi said, glancing over at the woman, who looked back at him, her face reflecting her disbelief. "A group of rogue shinobi led by Hikita must have killed your team on their route over, and took their places…"

"But… why?" Mei asked, blinking.

"I think we're about to find out…"

All eyes focused on the arena floor, where the two sides of Rogue Ninja from Kirigakure and official shinobi from Konohagakure faced each other down. Ryoko encouraged confrontation by baring her sword at her former comrade, knowing full well that she was capable of taking the man down if she really wanted to.

Little did she know though, was that surprises were held in store for the entire village…

"You don't look too surprised to see me, Ryoko-baka?" Hikita sneered in a husky, rough voice from underneath his hood (imagine of Vergil's tone of voice from DMC3), his eyes burning brightly with pure malice. "I guess I may have unveiled my presence here a little too prematurely. If that Mitarashi woman hadn't spotted me all those nights ago…I probably wouldn't have spoiled the _**bash**_…"

Ryoko's sneer transformed into a smirk, and she furrowed her brow at the man. "Well, if this is supposed to be a surprise party; where are the cakes and snacks?"

"Right here…" Hikita grinned, grabbing the scruff of his collar and ripping off his cloak.

Now, when he did, everybody was expecting to see a man of Kisame's height standing under that cloak, as given by his stature when wearing it. However, as soon as he ripped off his covering, Ryoko, Naruto, Anko, Kakashi, and pretty much everybody else present in the arena saw the man rise about another half-a-person, and tower over his student and the two Konoha shinobi with the height of two average males standing on each other's shoulders.

In short, Hikita was a giant, which best summed up _**some**_ of his more definite features.

Ryoko swore her old comrade was much skinner and shorter the last time they met, around Zabuza's height and build. However, she immediately noticed that Hikita had been extremely busy the past few years, based on his present outlook. Not only had he grown several feet, he was also totally ripped and buff. He had the build of a pro wrestler, crossed with a martial artist's and athletic build, meaning he wasn't just buff, but also lean. He wore no shirt, had his Kiri headband, which was slashed across the plate, positioned proudly on his head, and had a shoulder pauldron on his right arm, which was covered in ninja mesh and steel armor, right down to his hand, where he wore a fingerless fighting glove with a protective metal guard. He also wore a pair of black Jonin pants with two pouches or… more accurately, bags, around the back on his waist, held up by a thick, leather belt. He also wore thick combat boot sandals, customized for his newly acquired size.

Furthermore, the gauntlet he wore was encrusted with strange gems and stones, including sealing tags, as well as crammed with a whole range of other mystical looking stuff. He also wore his trademark sword on his back, the _Deity_, its long blade flashing in the sun and donned with rings and everything.

He chuckled as he looked at his former companion's face, which was a combination of shock and disbelief.

"How do you like these treats?" Hikita laughed, holding his right gauntlet arm up, flashing his bling.

"As impressive as your new look is, I'm not at all swayed by it, shithead," Ryoko replied, sweating a little and continuing to hold her sword up. "Do you think a little bit of jewelry you've stolen from here and there will win a fight against me?"

"Oh no… I won't need my… _new toys_… to beat you," Hikita replied, grabbing the sword on his back and drawing it. Spinning it in his gauntlet arm's grip, he then thrust it into the ground, where it became impaled and stood solidly fixed. After which, he then flexed out his arm and shoulders. "All I need are my own _**two**_ hands…"

Yagura continued to stand lifelessly beside his master, the shell on his chest and stomach vanishing, being replaced by his own flesh. Naruto glared at the grey haired Genin, more eager to continue on with his fight with the jinchuriki then anything else, his adrenaline soaring at the prospects of defeating one of his own to strengthen his position amongst the nine others out there. However, as long as the big, dumb brute stood in his way, then he couldn't touch him. Instead, he just took to standing on the sidelines for now, and watching on cautiously.

"Enough!" Ryoko roared sprinting forward faster then Naruto could track. In the blink of an eye, the red haired woman leapt through the air and descended upon her former ally, his arms folded while he smirked at her. She literally flew at him, and slashed down with her massive sword in a firm, two handed grip, putting as much power behind the strike as she could muster. In an instantaneous, fluent move, her blade struck her opponent, with the clear intention of slicing him clean in half.

However, that was not to be.

There was a loud clang when her sword slashed right across his shoulder, right down his chest, and past his mid-section, an attack that should have cleaved him in two. The ninja in the stands watched on in astonishment as the huge swordsman just stood there and took the blow headlong, unfazed.

Hikita chuckled and shrugged his shoulders, basically _shrugging_ off the woman's attack, before bringing his gauntlet arm around and swiping out at the woman in a back-handed slap. Ryoko barely managed to see his blurred, super-sonic movements and back-flipped away, barely avoiding the strike and the shockwave that rippled out from his attempted strike seconds later.

The swordswoman spun through the air and landed some distance away, taking a stance and bringing her sword back around. Her expression showed how stunned she actually was.

"WHAT?"

"Oh… surprised much?" Hikita chuckled, grabbing his sword standing right next to him and yanking it out of the ground. "Then try this…" Suddenly, an afterimage of the swordsman flew off of him, and charged at Ryoko, while the real one remained where he was. That transparent copy of him sprinted right past Naruto faster then a kunai, and straight for the red head, suddenly becoming a solid copy just feet from his target. The moment it became solid, the copy of the massive warrior slammed his left fist into its target's stomach. The woman had all but a second to choke up spit, before she was sent flying to the other side of the arena, and straight into a wall, which exploded outwards and crumbled under the impact of her collision.

The manifestation of Hikita that took down Ryoko faded away, the original cackling his head off in pure amusement.

"Man… what a rush! I love it!" He burst out laughing, the swordsman's voice echoing over the entire arena. The audience was shocked at the sudden development, with the Jonin up in the stands beyond astounded at the incredible strength Hikita had just displayed. Anko was visibly shaken by the sight of the man's attack, which brought down a shinobi that she and her friends had so much trouble against before. All the Jonin seemed to step back a bit from the railings, fisting their hands and gritting their teeth nervously.

Laughing outright, the man then smirked into silence and looked over at Naruto, who, in the face of everything that had happened, remained stationed where he was, a nervous glare on his face, with sweat trickling down his cheeks and brow. After staring at him momentarily, Hikita grinned and focused attention on his slave.

Yagura was still glaring straight ahead, unresponsive to the events transpiring.

Kneeling beside the grey haired boy, the scarred man grinned and whispered into the former Kage's ear as he laid his hand on his shoulder.

"I know you want to fight the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki, Mizukage. Your instincts as your demon's container are screaming at you to do so, the primal blood lust of the Three Tails is just begging you to rip him to pieces!" Hikita exclaimed, at the same time smiling over at the blonde, who stepped back a bit when he saw Yagura's eyes widen at his controller's words. Chuckling, the man nodded his head affirmatively. "You may kill him if you wish… and… be sure to _**decimate**_ the entire _Village of Konohagakure_ while you're at it…"

Yagura's forehead suddenly lit up with a seal Naruto quickly recognized as the fuinjutsu chaining the young Kage to Hikita's will. In the blink of an eye, the flashing seal plastered to the teen vanished, and the grey haired Genin charged at Naruto. The blonde frowned and leapt straight up into the air, avoiding the punch thrown at him from the lunging jinchuriki. He landed atop of the arena wall, with Yagura skidding to a stop and glaring up towards his target. Forming a single hand sign, the boy sucked in breath then suddenly, fired off a ball of highly compressed water at his opponent, who leapt away just in time as the high velocity sphere exploded against the wall, and bit a huge chunk out of it, rubble and debris flying in all directions.

Naruto descended down into the village streets below, with Yagura in hot pursuit.

The grey haired Genin leapt through the air from atop of the wall and, forming a few more hand seals on his descent, tracked his opponent dashing across the rooftops, and fired off from his mouth a high pressure stream of boiling water. The beam of water struck the building Naruto was on, and sliced straight through it as he followed his target, carving a nice gash across the village. People screamed when buildings just exploded and began collapsing around them.

Men, women, children and bystanders alike all ran for cover as, all of a sudden, hell broke loose.

Laughing and clapping like a child, Hikita turned towards the crowds and bowed mockingly, with everybody in the stands rising to their feet when he turned his attention to them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to welcome you to this year's Chunin Exams and, by extension, the destruction of the _Village Hidden in the Leaves_!" Hikita grinned maniacally and raised his sword in the air, before jabbing it into the ground once more. At that moment, Miki seemingly disappeared from the waiting room, and reappeared right next to the towering swordsman, masking her presence from the Mizukage with her parasol. She was soon followed by a black stream of smoke, which jumped over the colossal stone wall of the arena from the other side, before landing on Hikita's right hand side. It twisted and manifested itself into Eclipse, the boy rising to his feet from a kneeling position, and glaring up towards the crowd just as his master was.

"I shall burn this entire village to the ground, and rebuild it in accordance to my own vision of _'the perfect world'_!" Hikita declared, pointing up towards the balcony where the Kages sat, with two of them already standing. "I will start by chopping the heads off of these annoying bodies, and kill the three village leaders of Konoha, Kiri and Suna! I can't have their disgusting ideals polluting this _earth_…"

Hiruzen was about to jump down to face the swordsman, ready to defend the village, only to be grabbed from behind by the Kazekage, kunai held at his throat. The Sunagakure Village leader chuckled and leapt up towards the roof of the arena's main building, Jiraiya unable to respond in time to grab the nimble Suna leader. Instead, the hermit pursued, with the Kazekage's bodyguards also retreating with their master the moment he had secured his prize. Mei was stunned at the actions of Suna's Kage, her double-take preventing Kiri's leader from taking any action for the first few minutes. Instead, she focused on glaring down at the arena floor, where Hikita stood, still grinning in amusement.

"Oh! What an unexpected twist in this tale!" the man laughed, folding his arms. "It appears Orochimaru is here too… and is beating me to Konohagakure's leader!"

"Orochimaru?" Mei blinked, switching her attention from the former ninja swordsman, to where the Kazekage stood and held the Third Hokage hostage in front of Jiraiya.

It was at this time; the Kazekage's bodyguards threw off their disguises, and revealed themselves to be the _Sound Four_, stacked on top of each other in order to pull off the guise. After some quick thinking, Mei kicked herself into gear, and decided to chase after the Kazekage, pushing her village's former shinobi out of her mind.

Ao and Chojuro were about to follow after her, only to receive a back-handed order from their leader.

"Deal with that scumbag Hikita!" she called as she sprinted up the roof of the arena. "I'll take care of the Kazekage!"

Not in any position to argue, the two of them then turned their attention to the former Swordsman of the Hidden Mist, and jumped down to meet him. The moment they moved into action, Kakashi, Anko, Gai, Asuma and Kurenai also leapt down to the arena floor, meeting the huge shinobi face to face.

Hikita grinned as he watched the onslaught of Kiri and Konoha Jonin jump down to greet him. He mused to himself as he watched the allied shinobi assume stances and surround him.

"Do you think you're a match for me?" Hikita asked, tilting his head and raising an eyebrow. All of a sudden, he broke out into a haunting chant, which had all those in the area tremble at the tone in his voice. "_**Destiny… fate… death… the chosen warrior defies it all, against the dark, the light shall bring about judgment to all shadows in its wake! Ask of me, the chosen warrior, and I shall give thee thy inheritance… ASSIMILATION with the earth! **_I am the sum total of your Third Hokage's abilities and more! Do you truly believe dirt like you can bring me down… the _**God**_ of the Hidden Mist!"

"It's worth a try," Asuma smirked, spitting out his cigarette and drawing his trench knives. Cuffing them, he took his characteristic stance. "You can't beat all of us…"

"You have taken it upon yourself to attack the leader of our great village!" Gai smirked, bobbing a bit in his stance, while glaring the big shinobi down with his best, most youthful stare. "However, you won't be able to reach the top, until you get passed those defending it!"

"Very well then," Hikita replied, unfolding his arms and grabbing the handle of his sword. "I shall have the pleasure of hanging your dead corpses from your beloved Hokage Monument, after I am done with you…" With a nod of his head, he signaled for his two lackeys to move out. Miki vanished in a mist shunshin, whereas Eclipse suddenly rocketed into the air, flying up towards the clouds, with smoke trailing behind him, propelling him upwards.

Once Eclipse reached a suitable altitude, he stopped himself there safely, and slammed his hands together to form a Tiger hand seal. Flipping through several more, he then situated himself atop a black cloud he created from the container on his back, before dispersing huge amounts of his smoke from it, with him at the very center. The black clouds slowly, but surely, began to blanket the entire _Village Hidden in the Leaves_, blocking out the sun, and bringing about darkness, which startled a lot of the villagers who were out and about.

As the clouds thickened, lightning and thunder began rolling out, the huge amounts of chakra contributing to the technique growing as time ticked by.

"_**Thou shall tremble at the coming of Armageddon! **_I… _am_… _**Armageddon, the one that will scorch the soil and burn the skies and light this world with my fist as the flame!**_ You are all out of your league here…" Hikita chuckled, raising his left hand towards the sky and clenching his fist. When he did, the smoke and black clouds forming over their heads, suddenly began to cyclone directly over the swordsman. The amount of chakra he was giving off was astounding, and even for the non sensor type ninjas in the group, even they could feel his power pulsating off of him. "If you wish not to fight back I understand, but I'm going to destroy this village no matter what!"

"Do you feel that?" Asuma asked.

"Yeah…" Kurenai nodded, sweating nervously.

"It's like an entire army's worth of chakra is revolving around him!" Anko commented, looking the man up and down. It was worth noting that loose rocks and debris around the big shinobi, began to levitate off of the ground. "Where is he summoning all of that power?"

"I think I know," Kakashi spoke up, glancing over at the man's right arm, the armored limb which also held his sword tightly in its grip. "His incredibly high chakra level may be attributed to that gauntlet he's wearing with all those stones in it. The combination of all those gems is generating quite a high frequency of energy, so combined with his natural strength, ninjutsu and kenjutsu; produces a weapon of unimaginable power…"

"Hikita-sensei was incredibly powerful back when he was a ninja for our village, even on his own," Chojuro said, adjusting his glasses as he glared at the man in front of him. "Without his sword, he had the capabilities of taking down an entire squad of enemy ninja with his bare hands before taking any damage, but even then, killing him was still a _**long**_ way off…"

"Why is that?" Gai asked, the Jonin watching Hikita lower his arm from the sky and smirk around at them.

"Hikita's method of fighting enemy ninja is '_doggedly pursuing them across the battlefield'_ without any consideration of the terrain or his own safety, which is stated by his profile. As a result, he constantly committed suicide whenever he ran into a powerful adversary or a trap," Chojuro informed, furrowing his brow as memories of his teachings came back to him. "However, because of his unique Kekkei Genkai, he had this unique ability to reattach missing limbs and reconstitute himself, even when his head is severed from his body. As a result, he is un-killable…"

"He's immortal?" Kurenai blinked, shocked at the news.

"So the reports on him _**say**_," Ao stated, glaring over at the raven haired woman. "Whenever any of the _Hidden Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist_ was assigned a mission, they sent him on his own because he always endangered his comrades with his strategies. He was the village's trump card next to Kisame Hoshigaki and the Tailed Beasts. In spite of being weaker then Zabuza and Ryoko, he was basically an unstoppable force…"

"Until he runs out of chakra," Chojuro said out loud so that everyone heard him. "That's his one and only weakness. Deplete his chakra and his reserves, and he will be unable to restructure or repair his body for a whole week…"

"That information on me has reached its expiration date!" Hikita called over, still smiling wildly, which continued to unnerve the Jonin. The man pointed at them with his sword, the blade humming loudly. "My powers have tripled since the last time I was in Kirigakure! In the years I've been gone, I've been gathering strength to help prolong my battles and insure victory each and every time!"

He thrust his gauntlet upwards and held his sword back, so that the enemy surrounding him could get a better glimpse of his gems worn proudly on his arm. The more prominent stones were a large green one welded onto to roof of his palm and a silver one etched in purple markings at the back of the wrist guard, along with red, blue, yellow and a whole lot of other minerals encrusting the rest of the metallic battle-wear.

"While I was in Hoshigakure, I acquired remnants of the meteorite that crashed there over 200 years ago, and inherited its incredible power!" Hikita exclaimed, emphasizing one of his collectables, which seemed to flash in whatever light made it through the blackening clouds. He then moved down his arm and emphasized the green stone on his hand. "This _**one**_ I stole from a freak and his traveling circus from across the ocean! I killed him, captured his servants for my own pleasure and experiments, and incorporated this into my arsenal: the _Stone of Gelel_!"

The Jonin were even more shaken up by this news, as shown by their stunned faces and widened eyes. However, the Konoha and Kiri shinobi continued to hold their ground, while the legendary swordsman laughed.

"Oh… that struck a chord!" he laughed, grabbing his head with his free hand. The insane warrior shook with chuckles and fits of rather disturbing giggles for his voice type. "I know I'm just blabbering on about my new found powers… but what good use are they if I don't show them off once in a while… EH!"

* * *

It was at the same time Hikita launched his attack, the Sound and Sand armies began launching their assaults on Konohagakure.

A genjutsu was unleashed inside the stadium by Sound sleeper ninja positioned there as part of the strategy, the white noise from the _Temple of Nirvana Technique_ they initiated knocking out the villagers and officials present, effectively calming the rush to the exits that would have taken place. However, the Genin who were seasoned enough to pick up on the genjutsu and were present in the crowds at the time, reflected the technique back, and fought against it, while a small few within their ranks fell victim to it.

Those who were unable to repel it were lulled into a deep sleep.

Tenten was one of those people who nodded out, along with Choji and Shikamaru. Neji, Kin (who was familiar with the technique) and Temari were able to repel it, along with Shino and Sasuke. When the technique died out, they laid low amongst the bodies beginning to keel over, and continued to observe what was going on around them carefully. The Genin still in the waiting area for the exams were able to shake off the effects, with Sakura, Hinata, Kiba, Gaara and Lee hanging in the back of the room, fixing up their wounds, and continuing to watch the confrontation of the allied Jonin standing against Hikita.

Meanwhile, the Konoha Shinobi forces waiting at the outer wall, were assaulted by enormous snakes summoned by Orochimaru, accompanied by columns of Sound and Sand forces, which poured in, and began attacking the outside of the Hidden Leaf.

In that short half-hour the simultaneous attacks began, Konohagakure was thrown into war.

* * *

"Hmph…" Hikita grunted, sticking a finger in his ear and rubbing it, now having calmed down from his psychotic episode. "That annoying Sound Village, ruining my party…"

"Don't worry about them! Worry about us!" Anko shouted, about to lunge at the swordsman, having had enough of hearing him talk.

However, before any of them could, Hikita grabbed his sword, and with a quick smirk, slashed it through the air behind him. In that one swift movement, after which he placed his sword back into the ground, about a dozen Sound Ninjas suddenly appeared in the air behind him, suspended in positions of what looked like to be strikes, aimed for his back. In that one move, blood began spraying out of their mid-sections as they were sliced in half, their bodies falling to the floor.

Chuckling, Hikita cracked his neck. "Let's do this…"

* * *

_**Meanwhile…**_

_**Inside the Village…**_

Any Konohagakure Forces or Enemy Forces in the vicinity practically cleared out as Yagura plowed through the village in pursuit of his target. The former Kage, under the full influence of Hikita, unleashed devastating attacks upon Naruto as he continued to hop from building to building, rescuing the occasional person in distress when they unintentionally got in between the grey haired jinchuriki and one of the attacks aimed for his target.

Eventually, the fight took them to the river that crossed through the middle of the village. Once there, Naruto skidded to a stop from his retreat in the middle of one of the streets, and spun around to face his opponent he was certain was not too far behind.

Yagura exploded through a building about a hundred meters down the road, the structure behind him collapsing as he didn't have the good manners or grace to go through any of the doors or windows. Instead, he had just gone straight through the brick walls.

Skidding to a stop, the boy glared at Naruto down the street with a five o'clock shadow and a glare that could knock birds out of the sky if he concentrated hard enough. Naruto smirked as he stared down his opponent, forming a quick hand seal and throwing himself into action. Shadow clones burst up around him, the original one quickly mingling amongst the mass of over a dozen copies, so to throw off his attacker.

Seconds after summoning them, the clones then charged Yagura down, the grey haired boy forming several hand seals the moment he saw them approach, and steadied himself for his next attack. Villagers in the background could be seen vacating the street as quickly as possible, running for cover and diving into the surrounding buildings in an effort to avoid what was to be come.

"Water Release: Exploding Colliding Wave!" Yagura shouted. All of a sudden, the ground about a hundred meters behind him split open and blasted upwards, a wall of water about fifty meters high appearing.

The Naruto clones stopped as soon as they saw the gargantuan wave suddenly come charging down the street, at the same time, fill up and flood the other surrounding roads on its approach. The Shadow Clones turned to run when Yagura started riding the wave down the street towards them, but were caught up in the surging torrents and drowned, the massive tidal wave exploding into the central park area of Konohagakure.

Villagers and shinobi scattered as the wave cascaded down on top of the vicinity, crashing into the beautiful park and flooding it, the buildings becoming subject to relentless, smaller waves and blasts of water, as the attack started to settle. Yagura rode the wave into the park, before it swallowed up and blanketed the entire area in sheen of water, the apex he was riding on setting him down atop of the forming lake.

Glaring around the soaked, now Venice look-a-like of Konohagakure's downtown, Yagura attempted to seek out his opponent and reengage him. However, he was unable to get a fix on him in time when all of a sudden, simultaneous gun shots rang out.

The grey haired Genin cried out in agony when three kunai lodged deeply into the back of his left shoulder and staggered him forward. Spinning around, he was hit again in the right shoulder and chest, seconds before Naruto suddenly appeared out of thin air and rushed at him at incredible speed, right hand raised and hidden blade appearing.

However, just before Naruto could land his hit, Yagura's right arm sprung around and blocked his blow, the two of them skidding to a stop at the opposing forces clashing against one another, and the lake they were standing on rippling violently as a result. When the blonde Genin looked up, he noticed that his hidden blade had struck the side of his opponent's arm, which had transformed into the limb of the Three Tailed Giant Turtle again; only it was human sized and controlled. The grey haired boy glared back at him over the arm as the two grappled against one another.

"_Well… that's not fair,"_ Naruto thought, gritting his teeth as he tried, with great effort, to break through his opponent's defense. _"What a powerful opponent! He was able to successively unleash two Wave Techniques within a short period of time, which takes insane amounts of chakra to produce. He really is a jinchuriki…"_

Growling, Naruto leapt off, choosing not to fight head to head against a jinchuriki who could manipulate his demon to produce itself on different body parts so well. Yagura withdrew his arm and leapt backwards through the air as well, climbing to a considerable height in his jump. Swinging his arm around, he then thrust it down at Naruto, the Three Tails' limb expanding as it shot out. The blonde Genin jumped to the side just in time, as the massive hand crashed down onto the spot he once stood just seconds before. He rolled across the water's surface and resumed a crouched position, glaring over at the arm which ripped a huge chunk of earth from under the shallow water. Noticing the huge slabs of boulders the hand clenched in its grip, the blonde Genin got quite a welcome from it when it suddenly swung at him.

Responding quickly to the oncoming train, Naruto formed a single hand seal and vanished in a yellow flash as the titan of a limb came careering at him, and missing. Instead, it tore a good trench in the water, and smashed a tree into splinters.

Naruto reappeared at a safe distance from his opponent, behind a boulder, his Hirashin seal inscribed in its side. Panting, he subtly glared over the rock, watching as Yagura landed after his enlarged arm attack. There was a good spread of about fifty meters between him and his target now, and he was certain Yagura couldn't see him.

"_Dammit… fighting another jinchuriki is a lot harder then I thought," _Naruto cursed, breathing out heavily as he sweated nervously. _"This guy is much stronger then Gaara…"_

He was given only a second to ponder his thoughts, before he leapt away when the Three Tails' arm punched straight through the boulder he was hiding behind, and disintegrated it. Naruto sprinted across the surface of the small lake formed from their battle, before rushing straight for Yagura. The grey haired boy spotted him and frowned, his chakra climbing in response, along with the formation of a pillar of water behind him. Within seconds, the rising water pillar suddenly morphed into a giant water dragon and charged at Naruto.

The blonde Genin acted quickly, throwing his left hand back and forming a Rasengan on his advance on his opponent, and leapt straight at the dragon. With a yell of effort, he thrust his attack right into the dragon's mouth, the forces of wind whipping within the dragon's jaws and forcing the water to part, creating a tunnel in which the blonde flew through. Yagura blinked in surprise when he saw this, but quickly shook out of his shock and responded in kind, thrusting his hands together, and causing water javelins to shoot out of every side of the water tunnel Naruto was abseiling through, impaling the blonde like a bamboo death trap.

However, Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke when he was struck, surprising Yagura even more. All of a sudden, a whole bunch of Naruto clones came rushing at the Kiri shinobi from underneath the water dragon as it fell apart, a rain of water collapsing back down to the lake's surface. The Naruto clones charged at Yagura, one after the other leaping at the grey haired boy, who backed away in response to their newly formed onslaught, his Three-Tailed arm retracting back to normal, human size.

Frowning, Yagura thrust his left arm out instead, which transformed into the Three-Tails arm as well, and shot out, swiping at a cluster of clones and knocking them flat over. The Naruto copies cried out before vanishing, announcing the end of their short lives.

However, a good dozen of them broke through, and began hammering away at the grey haired boy, jumping at him and slamming various punches, kicks and whatever into his body, in an effort to inflict as much damage as possible. Yagura took them all, and staggered back in pain, bleeding from the mouth when several hits broke his ribs and hit vital spots. Gritting his teeth, the jinchuriki rebalanced himself and glared angrily up at the clones still coming at him, this time with kunai.

Five clones jumped up from behind the wall of copies, spinning through the air. They each descended at high speed towards their target, Naruto shouting at the top of his lungs, the name of his technique.

"CLONE SPINNING AXE KICK!" He roared, the clones' legs slamming down on top of Yagura, on his head, shoulders, and his head a second time, who nearly crumbled under the strain of the five simultaneous attacks. After sustaining the hits, the boy stepped back, looking up just in time to see the platoon of shadow clones lunge at him with kunai.

However, just as they were upon him, the water around Yagura detonated with the force of a sea mine going off, sending the clones flying away, yelling out in agony. The blast and shockwave was enough to concussively knock out every single one of Naruto's copies surrounding the Three Tails' jinchuriki, his clones disappearing into puffs of smoke. The real Naruto was far enough away to avoid the sudden wall of water that erupted around and from his opponent, and watched from a distance as it fell around the boy, revealing his attacker to be standing in the middle, barely scathed.

There was but another problem as well.

Yagura had two giant, armored tails whipping around behind him now, with a good half of his body already partially transformed into his Three Tails jinchuriki, including half of his face.

Naruto frowned and reassumed a proper fighting stance. Reaching behind him, he drew from his pouch a cluster of his dad's custom kunai, the tri-cornered knives flashing in the sun.

"If you think I'm going to let you completely transform, you're sorely mistaken!" Naruto shouted.

Yagura however, wasn't listening. Instead, the two giant tails behind him directed their attention to the blonde, and then shot straight at him like spears. Naruto leapt out of the way as the two tails struck at him, caving into the water and ground space he was previously standing on. Sprinting across the lake, the spiky haired boy wonder began throwing his custom kunai in his opponent's direction, watching as Yagura spun around to face him, throwing his arms and tails around him to block the incoming attacks. One after the other, the knives rebounded and flew off in different directions after hitting their target, becoming impaled in separate objects standing around Yagura on all sides, including trees, boulders, poles and alike.

Immediately after seeing a good number of his kunai form a rather messed up hexagon formation around his target after being deflected, Naruto grinned and tipped his hat.

"Flying Thunder God Technique…" He suddenly vanished in a yellow blur.

He zip lined to one of his kunai strategically positioned across the lake area from him. It was by following this path that led him directly through Yagura. The blonde didn't fully transmit himself into the summoning space usually used to perform this technique, but instead, allowed his body to travel at the speed of light, so fast that he could reach his destination in the blink of an eye, while still being visible to the physical world. Moving at this high velocity, meant that his target could not see him, so when he zipped straight past Yagura, Naruto had the time and reflexes to effectively hook his opponent across the face as he shot straight through the middle.

Appearing on the other side, Naruto zip-lined again to another kunai, and again, and again, repeatedly doing this one after another, forming a yellow web in the center of the lake at the consistency of his jumps and his incredible speed. He zapped across faster then lightning; striking at Yagura at all different angles repetitively, with punches and slices aimed at the Kiri Genin's body. As a result of the high velocity assault, the Three Tails' jinchuriki was beaten and smacked about relentlessly, slashes, scars, bruises and fist imprints appearing over his body in random places as he was knocked about.

The speed Naruto was traveling at meant that his punches' strengths were increased many times over, with the protective armor of the Three Tails' protecting Yagura essentially cracking under the strain of the beating.

The grey haired boy cried out when he was slashed across the back and spun around, only to be whammed across the face, and sent spinning in another direction. A split second later, he was slammed in the stomach and sent staggering back into the middle, before being kicked in the back, and sent falling forward. Gritting his teeth, the partially transformed boy glared up, seething with pure anger and frustration.

Naruto reappeared in front of the fallen jinchuriki, immediately stopping his attack the moment he saw Yagura collapse. The blonde walked up to him, a frown on his face as he glared down at the grey haired boy on his knees.

It was worth noting that Naruto's knuckles were bruised and bleeding. His hits, though powerful and enhanced with his high velocity dashes, meant that his fists were unable to sustain the damage of hitting an object that had the strength of a concrete divider. As a result, Naruto was screwing up his knuckles on his attack, but was putting a lot of damage on Yagura.

The blonde Genin was unfazed by his bleeding hands, and glared down at his target with a harsh glare.

"Flying Thunder God Technique: Naruto Version," the blonde stated, raising his head. "Surrender… I don't want to have to kill you…"

Yagura growled as he glared up at his target, blood pouring profusely from his mouth. Shaking his head, the seal on his forehead suddenly lit up again, alerting Naruto to the danger, and forced him to leap back in response. Blinking, he watched as Yagura struggled to his feet as the seal's glow on him grew in intensity, before unexpectedly splintering like glass. The blonde Genin spotted the splinters in the seal, and knew immediately from the cracks that it was beginning to weaken and break.

However, it still managed to hold its influence over the boy, and it faded away once again.

The moment after it vanished, Yagura rose fully to his feet and slammed his hands together into a hand sign, his chakra and his tailed beasts' chakra suddenly molding together, and beginning to transform him.

Before Naruto could take action, a loud clap of thunder caught his attention and he looked up towards the blackened sky. When he did, the blonde shinobi spotted a current of blue electricity course across the clouds, forming around a particular point in the masses of black before a powerful bolt of lightning shot down from the heavens, and struck some of the village's buildings. The explosion that followed consumed an entire block, the structures collapsing under the force of the attack. Naruto shielded his face when he witnessed two more bolts descend from the heavens and bring down four more buildings all at once, the unnatural phenomenon damaging Konohagakure.

"Dammit!" the blonde stepped back and glared up into the sky. All the while he was distracted; Yagura continued his transformation into the Three Tailed Giant Turtle. _"Eclipse has begun his attack! I have to stop him before he destroys the village!"_

But Naruto wasn't able to worry about that.

What he was most concerned about at _**that**_ moment, was the growing shadow in front of him.

Looking behind him, Naruto's eyes widened when he saw Yagura's body grow to an outstanding size, and at the same time expand, contract and warp. Within seconds, the limbs on the mass of armor and chakra took shape, and became more prominent in the transformation. This was followed by the appearance of the three armored tails whipping behind the body freely, and finally, the head, which sprouted like a plant growing from the soil. A spiritual, physical and conceptual nightmare of one of the most powerful beings in the shinobi nations became reality right in front of the blonde's very eyes.

Towering above him, dwarfing even the largest building in the village, the _Three Tailed Giant Turtle_ stood several meters in front of Naruto and for all to see, people screaming and crying out at the very sight of it. However, it paid the civilians and other shinobi surrounding him no mind, and instead, its one visible eye glared down at Naruto. It seemed to lean in to him, and breathe a waft of hot steam into the blonde Genin's face.

The low growl that frothed from its mouth had Naruto blink up at it and gulp nervously.

"O-Oh…"

_**TO BE CONTINUED**_


	42. The Defilers of God

_**Author's Note:**__ Please don't point out spelling or grammar errors if you review. I'm already aware of the fact that they appear in my work, I just didn't have the time or energy to double check this chapter… ENJOY Though!_

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* * *

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**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_The Defilers of God_

Kakashi, Raikiri blazing, rushed at Hikita from behind with incredible, unmatched speed, while the huge swordsman was busy pinning Asuma to the ground underneath his foot, crushing the man's chest. The giant of a shinobi was just about to finish off his quarry with a quick slash to the neck to decapitate him, only to detect another enemy coming from behind. This caused him to turn attention away from Asuma and towards the silver haired Jonin running at his blind spot.

Leaping through the air, the masked ninja thrust his crackling attack straight at the man's chest, the impact sound with a loud clap of thunder as he drove home his strike. Asuma watched from below, now free of his attacker's weight, allowing him to stagger away. However, he kept his eyes on Hikita, who shockingly, stood where he was, taking Kakashi's attack headlong.

The silver haired Jonin looked up in astonishment, seeing the snide grin on Hikita's face behind the blue bolts of electricity shooting out from his Lightning Blade.

"No way!" Kakashi shouted.

Hikita grinned and brought his right arm around, and lashed out at the Konoha shinobi, the masked man leaping away just in time to avoid the swipe, at the same time deactivating his attack. Kakashi skidded across the ground on his retreat from his target, before looking up to assess the damage.

The problem though, was that there was absolutely no damage to be seen.

"Impossible!" the famous copy ninja blanched, unable to fully comprehend what had happened. "I used a full powered Lightning Cutter! That had to _at least_ faze him!"

"Oh… don't get me wrong, _Kakashi of the Sharingan_… that technique did _sting_ a bit," Hikita exclaimed, placing his left hand against the chest area where his opponent had hit him full on. "However, a bee sting would have been more appropriate…"

Kakashi furrowed his brow and reassumed a fighting stance, watching as Hikita began walking towards him, yanking his sword out of the ground at the same time. However, just before the behemoth swordsman could get even halfway towards his next target, Gai suddenly came rushing in from the man's right and flew right at him, spinning through the air at a high velocity as he aimed a kick towards the Jonin.

"LEAF WHIRLWIND!" Gai roared, spinning a left side kick into his target's face. The blow struck, but only managed to nudge at the Kiri shinobi's face, the man glaring at the bushy browed taijutsu specialist. Astounded by his opponent's lack of response to his kick, the spandex ninja eventually pushed off of his target and leapt away just as Kakashi had done.

"Nothing?" Gai blinked, shocked. "He's just shrugging our attacks off as if they were nothing!"

Hikita grinned and turned towards the busy browed man, only to receive another pinch in the back of his head when kunai came flying from behind him and struck him from behind. Blinking, he turned around, only to see more flying knives coming at him from above, shuriken and senbon cutting through the air and striking him in barrages. However, the weapons struck him one after the other, loud clangs ringing out as they all bounced off of him, harmlessly. Anko descended out of the air seconds later, sending a double fly kick into the man's target of a face. However, her attack was just as unsuccessful as Gai's the result being a slight stagger from the missing nin and a shrug of his shoulders.

Growling angrily, Anko dropped to the ground right in front of the swordsman and crouched low, pulling her left fist back and, unexpectedly, sending a jab straight up into the man's genital region. Every man in the vicinity winced at the killer blow, which resounded with a loud thud on contact.

However, astonishingly enough, Anko withdrew her fist in shock, and blinked up at the man grinned down at her cockily.

"Oh… thank you… I was going to scratch my nuts sooner or later," he laughed.

"Fuck me!" the Snake Jonin coughed out, sweating nervously. "Your nuts have to be the size of tennis balls, and you still didn't feel a thing!"

"Nope…" Hikita chuckled, swiftly reaching down and grabbing Anko's left breast tightly. The woman winced before crying out in agony as she was suddenly lifted off of her feet by her chest, and was hung suspended three feet above the ground. She grabbed the swordsman's arm which held her, the Snake user desperately clenching the hand grabbing her, as well as kicking out uselessly as she was brought up to the missing nin's face, in an effort to break free. The scarred swordsman laughed as he glared heatedly into the woman's eyes, watching her sweat, before licking his lips in delight.

"You certainly are well endowed… Anko Mitarashi…" Hikita hissed, looking down at her breast he held, which was covered by her jacket. "Maybe after I am done burning this village to the ground… I'll make you my personal servant…"

"Fuck you!" Anko spat into the man's face indignantly. Hikita frowned as her saliva trickled down his face and nose, which he licked up carelessly. He smirked back in delight.

"Fair enough…"

Detecting somebody else trying to get a jump on him, Hikita spun around and, with a roar of effort; baseball threw Anko right at an oncoming Ao. The man had but a second to respond before the purple haired woman collided with him at high speed, and sent both of them flying about twenty meters across the arena, before crashing to the hard earth, rolling across to a stop. Both of them were pretty much knocked senseless by the unexpected pitch.

Hikita laughed, glancing around to see Kakashi rushing at him again, along with Chojuro trying to attack him from behind. Spotting the both of them attempting to attack him, the swordsman smirked and took proper action. Thrusting his huge weapon into the ground again, he formed a single, Tiger hand seal, before raising his gauntlet, the green stone on his wrist suddenly burning brightly with pure energy. Seconds later, just as Chojuro was swinging his sword down upon him and Kakashi was bringing up the rear with a kunai in hand, green energy exploded up and around Hikita like a raging fire. The force of the mysterious chakra tore up the ground around him, sending dust, debris and rubble flying in all directions, as well as a shockwave made up of the energy from the stone he held.

The blast of wind knocked Chojuro and Kakashi flying, both of them struck by the full force of the Stone of Gelel's attack. The silver haired Jonin, in mid-flight, took the kunai he held into a two handed grip, and quickly unfurled the wire wrapped around at the end. The wire was tagged with explosive notes, which he then threw with absolute precision at the man after being blasted off by the shockwave. The weapon cut through across the air space of the arena like a bullet, aimed directly for the enemy's chest.

The swordsman spotted the incoming kunai and raised his right gauntlet, purple energy beginning to form around his hand. A split second later, the kunai's half a dozen tags detonated simultaneously, racking an area of thirty meters with concussive explosions. The flames from the blasts engulfed Hikita, clouding any sight of the behemoth in smoke, dust and debris.

Chojuro managed to land on his feet after being repelled by the enemy swordsman's technique, whereas Kakashi fell rather clumsily, unable to recover after making his last minute throw. Looking over, the Jonin gathered around wondered and hoped whether that attack had done any damage whatsoever, and waited for the smoke screen to collapse.

However, as soon as it did clear, it revealed a relatively unscathed Hikita standing in the center, gauntlet raised with a purple shield of chakra protecting him. Grinning, the man undid the barrier, the purple energy fanning out like peacock feathers, before being sucked back into the stone it belonged to. He cracked his right hand of the tension caused by the technique, and folded his arms, chuckling.

"Is that it?"

"Not quite!" Anko roared, flashing through hand signs, before throwing her left hand out. "Ninja Art: Shadow Snake Hands!" she shouted. All of a sudden, a dozen snakes shot out of her sleeve and flew at the swordsman, hissing loudly. Hikita was about to respond with another gauntlet attack, but the attack came in too fast, the snakes striking him in the shoulder and staggering him a bit, with a large number of the serpents suddenly wrapping around him tightly, and began strangulating him.

Struggling against the binds, Chojuro saw his opportunity to attack, as did Asuma. The bearded Jonin jumped forward into action and formed a few quick hand seals, before inhaling sharply and unleashing his chakra enhanced breath all in one go at his target.

"Fire Style: Burning Ash Cloud!" the Jonin bellowed, black smoke gushing out of his lips, and pouring out in Hikita's direction. The swordsman was engulfed in blinding hot smoke and ash, his lungs responding in kind before dropping into a coughing fit at the cloud surrounding him and obscuring his vision. Anko kept the enemy at bay and trapped with her own technique, gripping her wrist and steadying herself where she knelt, holding her snakes in place. Ao was also kneeling beside her, watching the situation unfold through his Byakugan eye.

Seconds after the cloud of ash engulfed Hikita, Asuma bit his teeth together; creating sparks to shoot out from between his lips. That spark easily ignited the cloud of gas, which detonated along the stream of smoke leading from his mouth, to the ball surrounding the swordsman. It took but a moment for the mass of flames to reach the cloud, which went up in a magnificent, orange and black display.

The earth shaking explosion that followed would leave a smoldering crater in its wake and hopefully a deep fried swordsman, with Anko quickly withdrawing her snakes from the bellowing heat blast to make sure the fire didn't spread down her own technique to her, the heads of her serpents literally severed off by the explosion.

Chojuro brought his sword back around in a swing as he assumed a fighting stance, the gauze along his blade suddenly disintegrating as Hiramekarei powered up for its attack. Chakra coursed over the pure steel blade, which morphed and shape into a large hammer. Letting out a loud yell, Chojuro swung the sword straight into the ground, a strike powered by chakra blasting out of the air vents positioned along his blade, increasing the strength of his attack.

"Secret Art: PULSATING SHOCK WAVE!" the young swordsman roared, his hammer like sword hitting the ground with such force, even his own two feet weren't touching the ground. A massive shockwave, as given by the name of his technique, rippled out from the center of the hit, and ripped across the ground towards the black cloud surrounding Hikita's position. Literally, a wave in the earth was generated from his technique, which had everybody in the surrounding area leap into the air to avoid the ten meter high wall of rubble and earth coursing across the arena.

The split and disruption in the ground hit the cloud, and literally caused it to cave in around it. Slabs of stone and chunks of earth came up and began slamming together in an incredible display of power. Chojuro looked up with a grin at the successfulness of his attack, but was visibly tired from swinging his sword around the way he did. However, he knew that his attack should have caused some damage, and after dropping back down to the crumbling surface of the arena floor, watched on carefully to get a solid conclusion of his technique's results.

The other Jonin landed respectively after their evasion from the young man's attack and refocused attention on the thinning wall of smoke hanging in the air.

Seconds later, Hikita emerged from the cloud in the middle of ground zero, on his knees and glaring agitatedly ahead of him. He looked around at his targets surrounding him on all sides, revealing small burns etched onto his skin that were slowly starting to heal over, as well as blood leaking from his head and left shoulder. His body was visibly ruptured inwards from the shockwave technique and the boulders of earth that had slammed into him, which broke some of his ribs.

However, in spite of the damages, his unique abilities allowed him to heal himself of the most serious of wounds, and soon enough, he was back on his feet, a bit of blood still dripping down his face as he shook off the assault.

"That hurt you bastards!" Hikita shouted, spinning around and grabbing his sword's handle, yanking it out of the ground. Remarkably enough, _Deity_ had managed to remain standing where it was impaled, undisrupted by the ground that had shifted around it. "You'll pay for that!"

Just as he was turning to face Chojuro, tree roots suddenly jutted up and out of the ground around him, and wrapped themselves around his body, fastening him against the log. His body also began sinking into the ground, the man glaring down at the trap sprung onto him, which made him wonder for a moment whether it was a physical attack. However, when he looked up, he saw a raven haired woman with red eyes emerge from the tree trunk above him, kunai drawn and a death glare locked onto him.

"That's as far as you go!" Kurenai stated, her blade flashing in the sunlight.

Hikita blinked up at her, before grinning. "Genjutsu huh?"

All of a sudden, the illusion that was encasing him suddenly collapsed, and the man walked forward, Kurenai standing just several feet away from him. The raven haired woman had just a second to leap out of the way to avoid the swing of the man's fist at her when he lunged. Spinning through the air, she landed at a safe distance away, coming to a stand beside Asuma and Gai, who had converged on her for added support.

"Did you hit him?" Asuma asked, trench knives drawn.

"I did!" Kurenai shouted, shaking her head, feeling a bit dizzy. "He was trapped in my genjutsu! What happened?"

"I thought your techniques worked on everyone…" Gai asked, assuming his characteristic fighting stance as he glared at the swordsman in the middle of the arena, who propped his sword on his shoulder and grinned at them. "This man is no ordinary shinobi if he was able to simply stroll out of your illusion…"

"My technique just rebounded off of him," the red eyed Jonin said, glancing over at her bushy browed comrade. "I could tell because it broke, and I felt the sting of it when it rippled back on me. But that could only happen when the technique is forcefully broken out of, and he barely even put up a fight!"

"Genjutsu on any level doesn't work on me!" Hikita sneered, glancing over at Kakashi, Anko and Ao, the three of them moving around to get his back. All of them hesitated in their moves, and chose to hang back when he turned his attention on them. "Why don't you take a guess…hmm?"

"Hikita is so physically strong, not even genjutsu works on him… it's like sprinkling water over a raging fire," Kakashi growled, furrowing his brow and sweating nervously. "This isn't good…"

"Kenjutsu, Ninjutsu, Taijutsu… not even Genjutsu has any effect on this guy!" Anko growled, biting her lower lip. "It only works when we concentrate techniques on him…"

"We should strike at the same time and diverge all of our attacks onto him! That should work," Ao whispered, his allies nodding in agreement.

The buff swordsman laughed and stepped around, so that both his left side and right side faced his opposition. "So… you're planning on hitting me all at once? That doesn't seem fair…"

"That all depends on your outlook!" Asuma replied, his trench knives becoming sheathed in chakra, and began to hum with deadly energy. "What's the point of packing a sword like that if you aren't even going to use it?"

"At your request, Asuma Sarutobi…" Hikita hissed, twirling his sword around and slamming the end into the ground. The moment he assumed a stance with his left hand placed behind his back, rocks and boulders around him began to levitate into the air. The grin he wore showed his confidence in his battle prowess, as he looked left and right at the Konoha and Kiri shinobi flanking him.

"Round two… maggots…"

* * *

_**At the top of the arena…**_

Explosions ripped across the tiled surface of the roof of the Chunin Exam's arena main building, as the shinobi within the barrier set up by the Sound Four battled each other out. Unfortunately, for all those within the barrier, it wasn't turning out exactly how any of them expected the battle to turn out…

Leaping out of a burning ash cloud, Orochimaru skidded along the tiled floor, and glared ahead angrily, watching as the Mizukage suddenly came lunging at him out of the cloud, closely followed by Ryoko, who had managed to slip behind the Sound barrier just in time at the aid of her best friend. The duo attacked him at once, the pale man back-flipping out of the way just to avoid their simultaneous attacks, the swordswoman's weapon hitting the roof instead of her intended target. Mei Terumi was able to pursue though, and leapt after the Snake Sannin.

"You're not getting away this time, Orochimaru!"

"Tsk… annoying women!" the man hissed, flipping as he descended into a hard landing. Skidding down the slope of the roof they were on, he glared up and formed a single hand seal with his hands. His cheeks bloating briefly for a second, the Sannin's tongue suddenly shot out of his mouth and rocketed up towards the auburn haired woman flying down at him with a punch ready to land.

Frowning, Mei instead grabbed the elongating tongue as it flew at her with both hands and back-flipped under it, using it as a rope and zip lining down the length of flesh straight towards her target. She kicked Orochimaru hard in the face and sent the Sannin flying with the force of her blow. The man tumbled down the tiled roof rather painfully, his direction and timing of his descent allowing Mei to form several hand signs and take aim with her next attack.

"Lava Release: Laval Globs!" The woman breathed in sharply, before literally hocking hot loogies at her opponent. The man managed to stop his rolling and leap out of the way just in time to avoiding the pulsating globs of huge saliva balls flying through the air, which struck the tiled roof several times and melting into it, literally. He did however receive some splash back, the incredibly hot liquid sizzling against his skin like acid.

Stopping himself in his leap, he crouched low and glared up at the woman, clutching the burn mark on his arm, before suddenly catching a shadow coming in from his blind spot. In an instant, he wheeled to his left, seeing Ryoko lunging at him with her sword, a grin etched on her face. In the nick of time, the Snake Sannin, flipped through several hand signs before the woman's attack struck him down from above, his body splitting in two at the clean cut. However, the two halves of the pale ninja then crumbled into mud and dirt, the Earth Clone catching Ryoko off for a loop.

"Damn you coward! Get back here!" Ryoko shouted, spinning around and sprinting up to the top of the roof, where Orochimaru was crouching, panting from his constant running.

"Oh geez…" the Sannin breathed, gritting his teeth as he watched both Ryoko and Mei rushing up towards him. "How much energy do you two have?" He flashed through hand signs again, slamming his hands into the surface he was on and glaring up at the woman. "Earth Style: Boulder Avalanche!" The entire structure of the arena's main building literally shook as his chakra took hold of the surrounding environment, and suddenly, the tiles began to crumble and shift, chunks of it forming into boulders of wood, fiber and rock, which then began cascading towards the women rushing at him.

Ryoko and Mei easily maneuvered around the boulders, but found it even more difficult as the surface at their feet started collapsing. However, they made it through, with Orochimaru retreating from the two kunoichi in hot pursuit.

Hiruzen had a handful of his own problems. The old Kage was forced into a hard retreat as he was doggedly engaging both his resurrected teachers, masters and idols, Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju. The two Hokages had been brought about by Orochimaru's _Impure Resurrection Technique_, had their memories wiped, and were tirelessly attacking their former student. The Third slid down the roof of the building he was on, his Kage armor donned and scarred from the battle that had transpired so far, as he glared up towards the two Kages rushing at him down the tiled surface, flanking him on both sides.

Gritting his teeth, the old man formed several hand signs, before crouching low and leaping skywards, avoiding the double sweep made by the two former Hokages. The First and Second looked up as Hiruzen flipped over them, inhaling sharply and firing off balls of fire down at them in rapid succession as he abseiled over them.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" the Third shouted as the spheres of flames descended right down on top of his targets. Hashirama and Tobirama crossed their arms above them, and blocked out a majority of the raining torrents of fire that cascaded and detonated around them. Seconds later, the Third Hokage landed, crouching low and glaring down the confined battlefield towards the other two Hokages standing around the smoldered area that had just been strafed. As soon as they locked back onto him, they rushed him again, Tobirama flipping through hand seals as he sprinted up the roof.

"Water Release: Water Shockwave!" The Second Hokage shouted, moisture suddenly becoming sucked out of the air around him, and forming a thin vortex around him. Seconds later, the thin layer of water vapor surrounding the undead shinobi expanded into an enormous wave, which rippled upwards with a blast of force and charged the Third Hokage down. Hiruzen responded instantly, forming several hand seals of his own and in taking air just as his opponent had.

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet Technique!" Flames jetted out of his mouth with the force of a rocketed, and charged the water technique down, both attacks colliding and exploding with a shockwave that literally ripped the roof apart around them. The attacks were so high toned that Orochimaru, Mei and Ryoko were thrown off balance and sent tumbling down the roof as the blast waves hit them, and sent debris and rubble of all shapes and sizes in their direction.

Amidst the smoke and steam, Hiruzen continued to kneel in his position, and glared down the torn up surface of the building. As soon as he glared into the bellowing wall of water vapor, he suddenly saw the shadow of one of his targets appear in it, and explode out of it. Hashirama Senju glared up towards the Third Hokage and formed a single hand seal.

"Wood Release: Smothering Binding Technique!" The First Hokage shouted, throwing his right hand out, which formed into wood. It then morphed into that of a log, before wood spears and beams shot out of his hand like fingers, and branched outwards to ensnare his target. Hiruzen leapt upwards and landed against one of the pillars diverging on him, and began running down the length of the wood branches looping out and attempting to catch him.

Displaying incredible speed, energy and effort despite his old age, Hiruzen Sarutobi managed to duck and weave down the wooden length of his mentor's technique, and leapt at him when he spotted an opening. Swiftly, he sent a spinning kick across the First Hokage's face, the blow sending the village's founder skipping across the damaged, tiled surface of the roof and away. The moment the Third landed back onto the surface of the battle field, he was relieved at first. But when a shadow caught his attention and forced him to look up, he received a powerful kick to the face when Tobirama suddenly appeared into view.

The blow sent the old Kage packing, flying up the roof and landing rather clumsily in the end. Staggered by the hit, Hiruzen rubbed his bruised cheek before glaring down towards the Second Hokage, who formed a fighting stance and awaited his opponent's next attack.

"You still pack a punch, master…" Hiruzen groaned, getting back to his feet and assuming a fighting stance of his own. "However…I promise you two this… I will defeat you! As this village's still living Kage; I will ensure your return to the underworld where you belong!"

In the meantime, Jiraiya was engaged in a furious across the way, explosions and shockwaves bursting all across the ceiling as the white haired Sannin fought toe to toe with an unlikely foe. Skidding to a stop, the slightly beaten up old man frowned as he glared towards the dust cloud that he had formed from using a Fire Style technique against his fast moving target, the silhouette of which appearing in the smoke screen.

Moments later, the wall of smoke lifted, revealing the foe he was fighting. The white trench coat with red flames, Jonin outfit, and long, yellow hair, was well recognized by the Toad Hermit, and all those who were witnesses of their battle. The summoned Minato Namikaze, adorned in his symbolic on the day of his death, glared emotionlessly across towards his former teacher, Jiraiya breathing out heavily in an effort to catch his breath.

"Your strength and techniques may still be with you, but without your heart and soul in the fight, Minato…" the white haired man spoke, smirking. "I'm afraid you've dropped down a couple of leagues…"

Frowning, the Forth Hokage charged at Jiraiya, his speed in his run suiting his name as he became a yellow blur all on his own. The Toad Sannin spun around and sent a backwards roundhouse kick at his charging student, who took it to the head and tumbled down the tiled roof, kicking up debris and dust on his way down.

"This is just like the spars we used to have together after you became a Jonin!" Jiraiya shouted, chasing after his downed target. "Let's go!"

* * *

_**Elsewhere…**_

Tossing another Sound Ninja to the floor, the young swordswoman Miki glared down at the three dozen unconscious and withering bodies of Suna and Sound shinobi she had managed to mop up. She had been ambushed on her way over to Konohagakure's center to check on how Yagura was doing, but got side-tracked. In spite of not being at the heart of her team leader's attack, she could still feel the correlating chakras of Eclipse working high above her in the moving black clouds, and the sheer magnitude of Yagura's Tailed Beast, fully unsheathed from its container.

Sighing, the woman twirled her staff around her, and stuck the spear into the ground, looking up with a small smile on her face.

"Technically, I'm obeying and disobeying orders at the same time," the white haired girl exclaimed. _"Hikita ordered me to wipe out any enemy ninja that stood in my way, and in my efforts to avoid political backlash from the Village Hidden in the Leaves, I'm knocking out the invaders instead of the defenders…"_

"It's been a while since I've had this much fun…" Miki exclaimed, placing a hand on her hip as she marveled at her work. In truth, she is the only Seven Ninja Swordswoman in existence who has not slain a single one of her enemies in battle, her calls being merely bluffs.

It was more fun for her to just knock out an opponent then kill them.

Just as she was about to proceed on passed the downed platoon of ninja, the blind girl suddenly detected a presence land about twenty meters behind her, causing her to blink in surprise and look around. Though she couldn't see her foe, it took her other active senses to focus and familiarize herself with her new adversary. Turning side on towards her new opponent, her head turned in the person's direction, smile still worn on her face.

"So… you've come to have your match with me?" Miki exclaimed.

Hinata stood firmly atop of a high brick wall that divided the road her opponent was standing in from a small estate property behind her. The Hyuuga narrowed her eyes as she glared down at the young swordswoman, her Byakugan activated and reflecting her eagerness to battle the girl.

"O-Our match was forfeited the moment the invasion began, M-Miki-san," Hinata spoke, clenching her fists and furrowing her brow. "But I still wish to fight you…"

"Is this a personal vendetta?" Miki asked, turning to stare up at the girl. "In my defense, I haven't done anything to be receiving such killing intent from you?"

"I want to see… how far I have progressed!" The Hyuuga assumed a fighting stance on top of the brick wall, right foot and right hand held forward. "I want to prove myself to Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan that I can walk side-by-side with them… and protect them. You are the perfect opponent for me… the one who can prove my worth!"

"I see…" Miki smiled even brightly, nodding in understanding. "You wish to earn your value instead of having it given to you. That is noble…"

Taking her staff up into a single-handed grip, she twirled it around her and assumed a fighting stance, looking up to where her new opponent now stood.

"I will not hold back against you," Hinata shouted.

"Then… let's do this…" Miki stated, crouching and leaping straight up towards the Hyuuga, her staff spinning around her as she lunged…

* * *

_**Meanwhile…**_

_**Across the village…**_

"Mia-chan! Mia-chan! What is that?" Little Haru asked, pointing from her perch atop of the red haired Sage's shoulders.

The two Rinnegan users had been, for the most part of the day, lounging about some of the many massage salons for coffee breaks, and trolling the markets in the most popular boulevards for clothes and food. Mia was really being economic with Naruto's money, using it to purchase the essentials needed at his place, while at the same time, splurging it on the various other stores for their own amusement and pleasure for the day. Little Haru was obsessed with buying plants to plant in the garden with Isaribi and Ino, whereas Mia was fascinated in soups to fill her cupboard, a delicacy she most enjoyed.

So far, the two have had a great day together…

However, all of that seemed to change in an instant. While they were heading back home with their hands full with bags of supplies after a good day out, Little Haru suddenly spotted something across town towering above the village's buildings. Her 'where's Wally game' on top of her sister's shoulders inevitably drew both their attention to the Three Tailed Giant Turtle and the black clouds blanketing the entire village in the distance. Though the sight awed Little Haru, it seemed to strike a different chord with Mia when she saw a bolt of lightning course down from the heavens and level a building several blocks away, the shockwave rattling her where she stood.

Frowning, the Sage of Six Paths gritted her teeth.

"This isn't good," the red haired woman muttered, furrowing her brow as she looked up towards the sky above her. She sniffed the air, catching a whiff of what she recognized as burnt barbeque, and clenched her nose in discomfort. Little Haru, in the meantime, continued marveling at the purple colors of the black clouds above her, becoming heavily engrossed in the patterns of chakra swirling in the sky.

"This is one of my eldest student's oldest techniques he developed: _Black Death: Lightning of the Judgment God Zeus_," Mia whispered, furrowing her brow. _"It was used to blanket the entire planet's atmosphere in ash and smog and, utilizing the forces of weather and raw power, terrify the people of the planet into submission. I forbade him from using this technique!"_

The attack she remembered from so many years ago may have been smaller then she remembered, but it still annoyed the red haired woman that it was still being used by another.

"Affecting the forces of nature… now that's not cool!" Mia muttered, before focusing attention on the giant tortoise towering over the horizon, spraying water from its mouth and slowly pursuing an unknown attacker around it. When the Sage turned to it and squinted to get a better look, her eyes widened in surprise and a huge smile crossed her lips. "HEY! IT'S NEMO!"

"Nemo?" Little Haru looked down at the woman she straddled, who smiled up at her happily.

"Nemo! It's the three tailed turtle I made from the Ten Tails' spiritual and physical energy over ten thousand years ago! I named him Nemo and kept him in a fish tank, and fed him lettuce every day!" Mia clapped her hands happily, waving to the Giant Turtle, wondering if it could see her. "NEMO! HERE BOY!"

"Ooooh… Nemo!" Little Haru looked up, a curious expression on her face. A few seconds later, she then beamed into a brilliant smile, and began waving happily as well. "Nemo! Nemo! Nemo!"

As the two began shouting to try and get the giant demon's attention, they suddenly became aware of a presence behind them and turned around. When they did, the two young women saw an onslaught of over two dozen Sound Ninja standing behind them, all of them led by a single Suna shinobi. As soon as the two parties turned to each other, they stared, the large group blinking in surprise, whereas Mia and Little Haru stared back curiously.

After a few minutes of staring, Little Haru smiled and waved at them.

"Ninja! Ninja! Ninja!"

"Are they an enemy?" one of the Sound Ninja whispered to his comrade.

"They look like civilians…"

"They've got strange eyes."

"Maybe the older one is a kunoichi…"

It took only the Suna Team leader a moment of consideration, before he sharply pointed at the two females and shouted.

"Get them!"

The platoon of soldiers, though hesitant at first, then broke up from their ranks and charged at the two girls from the front, flanking them on the rooftops and charging down the middle of the road. The blitzkrieg like tactic managed to surround the two Rinnegan users, who just looked around curiously at the oncoming attack, not registering to the fact that they were in incredible danger until the Sound Ninja began lunging and jumping at them on all sides.

Mia easily side stepped and ducked under every attacker as they soared at her, performing a very estranged dance routine to avoid getting hit. At the same time, she also made sure that Little Haru was safely planted on her shoulders, as she hopped and skipped around every attempted attack. Eventually, the red haired woman kicked at one of the Sound Ninja leaping at her from in front, slamming her sandaled foot right into his chin and sending him skyrocketing.

"Why are you people attacking us?" Mia asked, watching as the man she hit soared high into the air, before slamming down onto the ground unconscious. "We were just out shopping! We didn't break any rules!"

"She's a kunoichi, men! Kill her!" the Suna Team leader shouted, bringing out a kunai.

Just as a squad of the soldiers made a direct strike from in front of the two women, Little Haru, who was at first just sitting and watching from on top of Mia's shoulders, did something completely unexpected. The little girl felt an incredible impulse overcome her and, raising her right hand, furrowed her brow at the incoming ninja and, unleashed a powerful, defensive and offensive technique that literally sent them packing.

"_**Shinra Tensei!**_"

The shockwave that followed rippled out from her at the center, and easily knocked the ninja flying, as well as decimating the surrounding buildings and property. The enemy Sound Ninja that weren't intentionally targeted by the attack, were also hit full on by the blast of invisible energy, and sent tumbling with the rubble, debris and dust. Seconds later, the invisible explosion that was fired by Little Haru died out, leaving her and Mia standing in a huge crater in the middle of the suburb.

Mia looked around for a moment, seeing the Sound Ninja and the Suna leader lying unconscious amidst the ruins of their surrounding, before smiling and raising her hand towards the girl on her shoulders.

"Nice one, Haru-chan! High Five!"

The little girl gave her big sister a respectable tap on the hand, before beginning to clap and giggle happily.

"Yay! Ninja! Ninja! Ninja!" Little Haru began punching the air in front of her, shouting with every playful throw of her fist. "Ha! Ha! Ha! I am Lee-kun! Ha!"

"Yes you are…" Mia exclaimed, ruffling her little sister's hair. "We'd better go before these guys wake up. They'll be very angry with us if they get up and we're still here." The Sage turned and began walking off out of the crater and down the road, Haru happily giggling as she rode the young woman's shoulders. "Hey! Why don't we go see how Naruto's match is going? I bet it's going great!"

"Yay! Naruto! Naruto! I want to see Naruto-nee-san!" Little Haru giggled.

The pair corrected course and headed towards the arena in the distance, unaware of what was really going on…

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

* * *

_**Author's Note**: I know the fights were a bit short, but I just wanted to show where everybody was at first, while cutting down a bit on the boring dialogue in between (in all honesty, the Naruto series has too many long pauses and too much talking. I want more action!). I'll be going into more detail in later chapters on the invasion so don't worry, and hoping you enjoyed this one!_


	43. Settling Matters

_**Author's Note: **_Bear in mind all readers, I'm very impatient at the moment, and I don't like writing multiple battles taking place at the same time, particularly for the Invasion of Konoha. However, I can promise even better battles to come after this chapter. Enjoy.

* * *

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Settling Matters_

"God, mother fucking dammit all to hell, shit bitch, fuck!" Were some of the many strings of curses flying out of Naruto's mouth as he ducked, weaved and leapt around the shallow lake as the Three Tailed Giant Turtle pursued him, at the same time, bringing down building after building surrounding the square which was their battle zone.

So far, the battle in the shallow lake has left a grand landmark smack bang in the center of Konohagakure. If the battle on the village's perimeter wasn't intense enough, then the jinchuriki battle certainly was.

Smashing down another building in an indecisive swipe at its target, the Three Tails quickly locked back onto Naruto as the boy flipped through the air, keeping his distance from the colossal beast. Landing atop of the water, the blonde panted heavily, visible bruises patterning his skin and tears in his outfit, while he glared angrily up at the demon. The Three Tails crushed the building it knocked over under its foot, and stepped towards the blonde, glaring down at it with its big red eye glowing brightly.

"This… sucks… balls!" Naruto cursed, flicking his wrists, with two kunai tied with explosive tags appearing in his grip. _"I can't stress how much I hate turtles!" _"ACHOO!" The Genin sneezed, wiping his nose and looking up, irritated. He was soaking wet from the water battle, and it was beginning to take its toll. "Great… I'm getting a cold as well… ARE YOU HAPPY NOW YOU CLAM FACED FREAK?"

Of course, shaking a fist up at the Three Tails wasn't really a smart thing to do…

With a loud roar, the Three Tails raised its foot above Naruto and brought it down like the hammer of doom. The blonde had only a one second window of opening, but didn't take it, and ended up being flattened under the big beast's foot. The giant demon didn't stop there though, and began stomping on him repeatedly into the shallow waters, its blows shaking the entire hundred meter square area around it.

Eventually, after stomping down on the boy about twenty times, it kept its foot down, glaring down at the spot its target was. For a moment, it thought it had killed its opponent, only to get quite a surprise when its foot was suddenly forced up. Still trying to put its full weight behind it, the Three Tailed Giant Turtle got quite a shock when its foot was lifted right off of the ground and out of the shallow water. Seconds later, its limb was hanging about a person's height above the ground, a rather bruised up and pissed off Naruto standing underneath it and having a weight lifting contest with the demon.

"GAAAAARRRGGGHHH! YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Naruto roared, his body trembling as he held the full weight of the giant turtle above him. His legs and arms shook as he pushed the monster's corns off of him, and glared up through a red, strained face. "YOU CAN'T SQUASH ME!"

With a yell of anger, Naruto threw the turtle off of him, the giant beast staggering back and colliding into several more buildings, the structures collapsing under the impact and its weight. A loud, primal roar echoed off of the giant demon, glaring over at the blonde Genin as he staggered away, huffing and puffing from the effort.

"Well… I guess this is turning… into a real fight for my life!" Naruto grinned, wiping his brow. "Let's see how many lives this _demon_ has…"

The Three Tails lunged down at him, head first, aiming to swallow the blond. Naruto, frowning, suddenly became blurred in the eyes of the turtle, and vanished into thin air as the demon collided with the shallow water. The wave it formed from the force was colossal, about the same size as the water colliding wave, but it dissipated before it did any real damage to the village. Looking up from the water, the Three Tailed Turtle spotted Naruto hovering fifty meters above, right hand grabbing the brim of his hat. Taking aim, the blonde ripped his straw hat from his head and held it out, throwing it like a discus straight down at the demon.

The metallic dish of a hat curved through the air before striking the beast dead in the eye. As if that weren't enough to stagger it, the explosive notes attached to the inside of it did. The hat detonated with the force of a couple of landmines stuck together, and when it did, the giant turtle let out a roar of agony, and stepped back, crashing into more buildings.

"You've got a big ass bulls-eye sitting right in the middle of your face!" Naruto exclaimed in his descent. "It's hard not to miss!"

Charred and smoking from the face, the turtle glared up through a slightly obscured vision, watching as its target landed about a hundred meters away.

Just as he was about to make another move, there was a flash of light and a shadow, and suddenly, a small falcon or hawk came diving out of the sky out of nowhere with a loud shriek, the nimble animal lashing out with its claws at the demon in its swoop. The Tailed Beast roared angrily and lashed out, only to have the falcon soar off unharmed. Naruto grinned when he saw his winged friend disappear, having come to help him as he always had.

"Thanks, Auron!"

Trembling with rage, the Three Tailed Giant Turtle rose back up, and with a mighty roar, sent a huge tsunami in Naruto's direction, this wave being several times bigger than the previous ones. The blonde Genin gawked in shock as he watched the attack approach him, and quickly formed a hand seal.

"Not good!" He vanished in a yellow blur, using a quickness technique to sprint away from the wave and back down the streets of the village hundreds of meters ahead of it. However, he wasn't able to get far when he ran into a crowd of villagers several blocks from the center of the village, all of them huddled up and hiding from the battle taking place.

Noticing that they were in the path of the coming wave, Naruto stopped in front of the small group of families in the middle of the intersection, and turned towards the humungous wall of water, towering over fifty stories and heading in their direction. Looking back and forth between the civilians and the tsunami, the blonde cursed at himself and formed his trademark, cross-finger hand seal, and flexed his chakra out as much as he could.

"KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"

Smoke exploded around him and spread down a line of over five hundred meters in every direction, forming a perfect semi-circle around the incoming wave attack. The smoke lifted to reveal hundreds upon hundreds of Naruto's stacked up on top of each other. Standing on each other's shoulders, the countless clones quickly formed Rasengan's in their hands all down the line, the whipping winds coursing over the city, like a hurricane. The wave was quickly upon the wall of clones, the civilians of Konoha screaming, praying that they aren't crushed by the enormous wall of water.

However, Naruto was not about to give up at this point.

"WIND RELEASE: WALL OF A THOUSAND RASENGANS!" The clones roared, thrusting their attacks directly into the oncoming, raging wave.

Their simultaneous thrusts generated a colossal wall of wind, which tore into the wave and drove it back, as the tsunami was continually fed by water from the Three Tails. In spite of their best efforts, the clones quickly started losing chakra as their Rasengans, though holding back the wave, began to fade. Naruto's quickly depleting chakra levels were the main cause of this, the original standing against the jinchuriki's attack, but not for much longer.

"Damn it… to hell…" Naruto growled amidst his copies, also driving a Rasengan into the wall of water, which was gradually gaining ground over them. Biting his teeth together tightly, the blonde glared over his shoulder furiously towards the crowd of villagers. However, his frustration wasn't directed at them, more like to the bystanders on the sidelines. "GAARA YOU BASTARD! IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A MOVE NOW, _**NOW**_ IS YOUR CHANCE!"

"Earth Style: Sand Wall!" Gaara shouted, slamming his hands together as he landed behind the wall of Naruto clones. He then slammed his hands into the ground, the earth quickly splitting down the line of Narutos. It took only several seconds, and as they ticked by, a mass of sand particles poured out of the earth from the huge split Gaara made, and rose up several stories, before stopping at a reasonable height. The wall of sand then tightly packed itself together, and became a solid, wall of earth.

The moment he felt and saw the wall behind him form, Naruto canceled his technique and back-flipped up to the top of it, making it just in time to watch his wall of clones dissipate all at once and the wave continue on. The wall of water had been cut down enough for it to crash into the earth wall, but have no effect on it. The water was effectively stopped, a huge lake formed right in the middle of Konohagakure, with the Three Tails at its center.

Panting heavily, Naruto collapsed to his knees and glanced behind him, seeing Gaara suddenly materialize out of sand right next to him, the red haired boy's arms folded.

"Hmph… you're still too weak, Uzumaki," Gaara muttered.

"SAYS YOU, YOU WALKING DRINK BOTTLE!" Naruto shouted back, feeling pretty much underappreciated at the moment. "I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE ALREADY NOTICED, BUT I'M FIGHTING A JINCHURIKI UNDER MY OWN POWER!"

"Still… not an excuse…" Gaara smiled down at the blonde, watching his friend stagger back to his feet. "Need any more help?"

At that moment, Sakura, Sasuke, Lee and Shino appeared beside the red head, jogging up to the two jinchuriki.

"Naruto-kun…"

"Geez. You look like hammered shit, dobe," Sasuke commented, slipping his hands into his pockets and taking note of the blonde's battered and bruised condition. His white trench coat was torn in several places, he was bleeding from the head and mouth, and he was stained in dirt and dripping wet. Needless to say, 'hammered shit' was a pretty accurate description.

"Yosh! Are you okay?" Lee asked. "Does my eternal rival require any assistance?"

Naruto smiled as the active Rookie Nine members came to his aid, before turning back towards the Three Tails standing in the center of the huge lake now spanning over two kilometers across. The thick mists forming around the Three Tails was matched by the darkening sky, the giant demon growling angrily as he glared towards his target and his reinforcements. After a minute or so of consideration, the blonde stretched out and groaned his answer.

"Just keep the villagers out of harms way, and keep the water inside this pond!" Naruto said, glancing over at Gaara and the others. His Suna friend nodded in understanding, while a couple of the Rookie Nine looked ready to protest. "He is _**my**_ opponent… so I'll be finishing this battle by my hand!" He then pointed at Sakura and Lee. "Spread out around this area and stop anyone from interfering. It's better that only one person deals with this thing, then risking a whole bunch of others if they get caught in the crossfire. This way, nobody else will get hurt…"

Sakura nodded in understanding, reluctantly allowing her boyfriend to carry on the fight on his own, whereas Lee saluted in his characteristic way. Sasuke shrugged indignantly, but agreed nonetheless.

"Well… now that _that_ is settled," Naruto exclaimed while walking out onto the now calmer, steaming waters. His footsteps formed small ripples, which echoed outwards as he approached his target, slowly. "It's time for me to unleash my secret weapon…"

Reaching up, he grabbed the scroll and yanked it from the clasp on his left shoulder, his trench knife no longer sheathed in his right shoulder scabbard, as it was shattered and lost in the wake of his battle with his opponent. Unfurling the scroll, he threw it out in front of him and bit into his thumb. Running the blood print down it, he then slapped his hands together and slammed them into the water's surface, seal marks appearing around him as the scroll fell atop of the lake's surface. The Rookie Nine and Gaara, who were still standing on the wall, watched on in interest and awe as Naruto performed his technique.

"Summoning Jutsu!" the blonde Genin shouted, white smoke exploding around him in animated, dramatic fashion.

Seconds later, the smoke faded away, revealing not Gamabunta, but Gamakichi sitting in front of him. The small orange toad smiled, and waved up at his summoner.

"Yo! Naruto… my man! How's it going?"

Literally everyone standing behind Naruto fell over backwards, even Gaara. The blonde shinobi gawked in disbelief before pointing accusingly down at his summon.

"YOU!"

"Yeah me! What's up?"

"UGH! WHY…I… YOU….I… THI… THA… SOME… YOU… GAAARRGGH!" Naruto grabbed his hair and pulled at it. "WHY IS IT ALWAYS YOU?"

"What? You should realize at this point that you suck at summoning reliable companions, kid!" Gamakichi chuckled, rubbing the side of his head. "Of course, this attempt can be considered an exception from all the others. You're lucky to get me! I'm pretty reliable!"

"ARGH! I don't have time for this!" Naruto growled, biting into his thumb and drawing more blood. He then ran seals all over the roof and underside of his right hand, along his fingers, palm and knuckles, focusing all his most potent chakra into the center of his hand. "I have a _**big**_ problem at the moment…"

"Big problem?" Gamakichi hopped around and looked behind him. He got quite a shock when he looked upon the easily recognizable form of the Three Tailed Giant Turtle lumbering towards them. Small waves began kicking up as the weight of its footsteps began rippling across the lake's surface. "WHOA! THAT _**IS**_ A BIG PROBLEM!"

"Get into my coat pocket, Gamakichi!" Naruto shouted, opening up one of the flaps on the side of his trench coat. The frog immediately hopped in, not wanting to get caught in the water in a confrontation with one of the most powerful creatures on the face of the shinobi world. Though he had a bit of trouble fitting in, he was able to manage eventually. "I'm going to summon my familiars…"

"Familiars? You don't mean…?" The toad croaked, looking up at the blonde from under the pouch flap with a nervous look on his face.

"YUP!" Naruto thrust his right hand into the lake's surface, seal patterns expanding out from his center. "_**Ultimate Ninja Art: Memory Manifestation Summoning Jutsu**_!"

Another explosion of white smoke engulfed him, Gaara, and the Rookie Nine present, back on their feet, looking up to see what was happening. Most of them ere expecting their blonde friend to screw up again, while the select few amongst them who had more confidence in their friend, felt that something big was gonna come from his technique.

Those set few were quite correct, but nevertheless, received a shock of a life time…

When the white smoke dissipated, Naruto was revealed to be kneeling between two summoned bodies. As the white cloud dissipated further, the silhouettes revealed themselves to be two teens around their age. One of them was a young male who stood on Naruto's left, with long, spiky blonde hair, wearing dark blue, standard ninja pants, and a white jacket with blue linings, a fishnet top adorned underneath. The second teen standing on Naruto's right was revealed to be a pretty young girl with beautiful, red hair, a slightly rounded face, and wearing light brown, orange and red clothes. Furthermore, both the teenagers had the Hidden Leaf headband worn proudly on their foreheads.

Clothes ruffling in the wind, the two teens standing on either side of Naruto glanced down at the boy, the whisker marked boy breathing heavily from his efforts.

The boy on Naruto's left blinked in surprise, but then smiled in amusement.

"Geez Naruto… you've really taken a beating this time, haven't you?" the kid exclaimed. The girl on Naruto's other side also giggled as she looked down at the battered jinchuriki, who was now looking up at the two of them in distain.

"Give him a break, Minato-kun. He's been through a lot today," the red haired girl pointed.

It was then the two Genin standing on either side of Naruto looked up towards the creature the blonde was fighting. They weren't too surprised when they saw the Three Tailed Turtle standing before them, but it did rouse their interests. The two summoned individuals were, as observed by Naruto, his parents; Minato and Kushina in their Genin days, both of them young, fresh, and battle ready.

Needless to say though, he was a tad bit disappointed.

"Ah… the Sanbi," Minato chuckled, slipping his hands into his jacket pockets. "I figured you'd be having trouble against someone like that…"

"It must be the Forth Mizukage," Kushina commented, placing her hands together as she admired the beast. "Ever since he disappeared from Kirigakure all those years ago, the _Village Hidden in the Mist _has been one short a jinchuriki, and has been searching tirelessly for it and their Kage. But now, after all these years, he's shown up in Konoha of all places…"

"Why'd you summon us to fight anyway, Naruto… and how?" the young Forth Hokage glanced down at his son, blinking in confusion. "You seemed to be doing fine on your own…"

"I didn't… expect to… summon _**you**_ guys… in such states," Naruto panted in exhaustion, struggling to his feet. Stretching out, he rubbed the back of his head and groaned, looking over at his young father. "I used an experimental technique meant to summon memories manifested into physical forms through use of my chakra. I developed it under Mia's guidance; because she knew I had tremendous knots of energy the two of you left behind inside of me, and provided me with some knowledge as to how to utilize it. But my chakra must be really low to summon my parents in their teenage forms and not as adults… sorry about this…"

"That's alright. It must be a high level technique then if you're learning from the Sage of Six Paths," Minato exclaimed, glancing back over at the Three Tails. "You've handled the battle quite well from what we could see. Good job!"

"There are only a handful of people I know who have had experience with fighting the Tailed Beasts, but Ero-Sennin is busy fighting Orochimaru with old-man Third at the moment, Gaara is no match against a water jinchuriki, Killer Bee is too far out, and I can't get into contact with Ni. You two are the closest people I could think of and because you're essentially a part of my memories, it made it easier for me," Naruto replied, looking over at his young mother. "I hope you two can still use your techniques…"

"I've still got some tricks up my sleeves," Kushina exclaimed, throwing her hands out, with two white kunai attached to chakra chains shooting out. "Since you summoned us, Naruto-kun… let's have some fun, ttebane!"

Minato chuckled and pulled his hands out of his pockets, and held both of them outwards, assuming a fighting stance. "I may not know the Flying Thunder God Technique at this age, but I'm still pretty light on my toes…"

"Be careful you two," Naruto said, putting his hands together into a hand sign. "I've divided whatever is left of my chakra into thirds between the three of us, so use what you have wisely. I won't be able to keep feeding you reserves forever!"

"Right…" Minato exclaimed, the three Genin quickly springing into action.

The young Yellow Flash exploded forward, sprinting across the water's surface at high speed. Kushina followed, both of them running side by side in battle formation. Naruto joined them in their charge as well, hooking right and rushing around the slow, lumbering Three Tails. The Rookie Nine and Gaara stood on the sidelines and watched closely with eagerness and anticipation, wanting to see how the battle would unfold

The Three Tails let out a bellow of anger, before lunging at its opponent and his summons, lashing out with jet streams of water and its three tails whipping behind it, its attacks cutting through the clouds and mists surrounding it. Naruto leapt skywards as one of the demon's tails flew straight down at him, the blonde landing against the length of it and ran along it about half way, before diving off, avoiding high pressure jets of water fired at him from its mouth. The blonde dove into the water to the beast's far right and, like a dolphin, swam at high speed around the Three Tailed demon's blind spots, its attacks and tails still following him.

Eventually, Naruto leapt out from under the water and began skidding across the surface of the lake, adjusting his chakra at his feet and beginning to skate across it gracefully.

While the spiky haired Genin distracted the beast, Kushina came in from its blind spot on its left as it rotated in a clockwise direction. Forming a hand seal and crouching on top of the water, she threw both her hands out in front of her and shot chains of chakra at the Giant Turtle. The white chains of pure energy curled around the demon's form, wrapping around its neck, body and limbs. With a yell and a sharp tug, she pulled the Turtle towards her, the Three Tails staggering back and crashing down further into the lake, it's scarred, red eye glaring round at the attacker responsible for its restraining.

With its attention now set on Kushina, a young Minato used the lapse in time to leap up and on top of the beast's head after managing to get close enough to it, drawing kunai from under his jacket and beginning his assault across its back.

Performing an array of flips forward and down the length of its steel like shell, Minato swiftly and with great strength, drove kunai into and along its back. He stayed on the move to make sure neither of its defensive attacks caught him. Eventually jumping and running up one of its tails rising up into the air, the blonde haired boy formed a hand seal and grinned down at the struggling, giant turtle. Safely away, he initiated his technique.

"_Ninja Art: Summoning Vacuum_!"

The tailed beast unleashed a roar of agony when suddenly, Minato's kunai simultaneously went into slip-space jumps across its back, taking huge chunks out of the turtle's shell and staggering the beast. The technique Minato performed was the parent jutsu for his Flying Thunder God Technique, but instead of teleporting himself through the space time leaps, he instead teleported sections of the host body the kunai were attached to. As a result, invisible explosions racked at the Three Tails' body, causing it severe damage and pain beyond its imagination.

Seeing gaps in its protective armor, Naruto decided to make his move. Leaping from behind the giant beast and out of its degree of vision, the blonde formed a quick hand seal, and summoned over three dozen shadow clones. The copies appeared around him in mid-descent, all of them immediately beginning to generate Rasengans in their hands, the blue balls of energy glowing brilliantly and parting the mists above the turtle. All at once, the Naruto copies cascaded down on top of the Three Tailed Beast, striking at the soft flesh exposed from underneath the armor Minato had chipped away. The turtle roared in pain and attempted to escape from his binds and throw his attacker off, only to suffer more damage from the pressure induced by the tightening of Kushina's binds.

The red haired girl holding her quarry down bit her bottom lip as she kept her chains in check, forming a hand seal to better concentrate her chakra, while Minato joined her at her side. He landed right next to her following his successful assault on the now crippled demon.

"How much longer?" he asked.

"Not long… the chakra Naruto was able to give me is almost gone. It takes a lot to produce chains this strong!" Kushina groaned, breaking out into a heavy sweat as she felt the strain on her newly gained body grow. "It's insane! He's so young and he's been fighting this thing all by himself! I have to say… he's gotten much stronger then I could ever dream of…"

Minato smiled and nodded, watching as the Naruto copies dispersed and the real one jumped down to rejoin them on the lake's surface. The original landed right in front of the summoned pair, Naruto nearly collapsing under the strain of exhaustion and battle fatigue, but managing to hold firm.

"He's really strong…"

"KEEP THE SANBI DOWN!" Naruto shouted at his young parents, throwing his right hand out to his side. At that moment, several of his surviving clones formed up on the trio on Naruto's order, and arranged themselves at a ten meter radius around the blonde's extended hand. All at once, the copies held their hands out towards the original Naruto, and began rotating chakra around him. A heavy wind kicked up, Minato and Kushina watching on in silent surprise as the boy's chakra level climbed and he began forming a huge technique to take out the Tailed Beast. Everyone in visual range witnessed blue chakra swirl and compress into the Genin's hand, the blue, pure chakra glowing rather brightly.

The summons immediately recognized the rotation and formation of the technique Naruto was attempting, but noted it was much stronger then the original attack, and from the clones gathered around Naruto at their distance, it was _**much**_ bigger.

"That's…" Minato blinked.

"I'm going to finish this fight in one go!" the whisker marked Genin stated, nodding his head firmly as he concentrated his chakra around the air space, his copies helping him to maintain its shape. "I need to knock the demon back into the container while leaving the host intact so he can be handed back over to the Village Hidden in the Mists! This is the best I can do at this point for attacks!"

"You can't!" Minato shouted, rising to his feet. "A Rasengan at that size with your level of chakra and experience with the technique will rip your arm off!"

"Heh… I can't tell you how many times that has happened to me already, dad," Naruto grinned over at his young father, who suddenly came to the realization of what his son has already been through in his life. Sweat dropping a little, Minato animatedly sighed out and shook his head.

"Geez… it's only a hand… _again_. Why am I so concerned?" Kushina glared up at her husband, her expression becoming one of comedic fury.

"YOU'RE HIS FATHER, TTEBAYO!" the red head shouted. "YOU _**SHOULD**_ _BE_ CONCERNED!"

Within seconds, the ball of chakra swirling in the original Naruto's hand grew from baseball size to the size of a basket ball, and after several more seconds, and an up kick in the raging winds around him, it grew ten times in size. Within a minute, the Rasengan Naruto was struggling to hold was about the size of the Three Tailed Giant Turtle's head, who the blonde was intending to hit with his gargantuan attack.

With a hurricane like force raging around him, the Naruto clones dispelled, their chakra being added to the technique the original held in his hand. Gritting his teeth, he compressed the attack just a bit, enough for him to properly move it where he stood. It was at successfully being able to contain his technique the blonde grinned and glanced over at his two young parents, both of them smiling at him.

"Wish me luck…"

The pair nodded.

"Go for it, Naruto!" Kushina shouted.

With a nod of his own, the blonde turned back to the Three Tails still being held down by the chakra chains. Sucking in air to compose himself, the Nine Tails' jinchuriki charged, sprinting across the water towards his target, his giant, billboard version of his Rasengan spinning wildly, and causing the water beside him to part as they made their way to their objective. Gathering speed, Naruto then leapt into the air, aiming to hit his opponent in a downward direction to limit risk of a splash back on the village if he aimed it upwards.

Judging from the size of Naruto's Rasengan, bystanders new the explosion was going to be big.

Spotting the threat descending towards it, the Three Tailed Giant Turtle was able to find a new urge of strength inside of itself, an urge to survive, and not get disintegrated by the attack heading its way. Growling loudly, it forcefully ripped itself from the chains binding it, shattering the chakra strings and leaping up out of the lake. Roaring at the top of its lungs, it lunged at the incoming Naruto, clawed arm extending and jaw widening.

However, its efforts would be all for naught.

Grinning, Naruto swung his Rasengan round, and thrust it straight at the beast's face.

"Eat this… GREAT BALL RASENGAN!"

At first, when his attack seemingly struck the beast right between its eyes, nothing happened, the attack rapidly shrinking to the size of a spec, a sonic boom ring visibly rippling off of it. However, a split second later, it suddenly exploded, the size of the attack increasing many times over and engulfing about half of the giant turtle. The huge blue ball of raw, swirling energy ripped at the demon's face, the demon crying out in agony as its face and upper body was torn up, at the same time, Naruto pressed home on his attack, gritting his teeth as pain wracked at his arm and shook his skeleton from head to toe.

The lake surrounding the Tailed Beast and the attack gradually expanding to consume it caused a whirlpool effect, which whipped around with the speed and force of a hurricane. This unholy accumulation of energy and seismic forces literally had the air in the surrounding space for kilometers literally sucked in. The Rasengan expanded more and more, and with it, its effects increased in ferocity too. A hole was punched straight into the black clouds above, which opened up with a shockwave, light pouring through the rip and illuminating the village. Eclipse was shocked out of his technique, and was literally knocked out of the sky when the wave of wind from Naruto's attack hit him.

Eventually, the Rasengan's orb consumed the entire Tailed Beast, and after a minute of ripping at the demon's body and chakra coils, exploded with concussive force which sent the huge beast careering through the lake and to the other side where the wall Gaara had created kept the water in. The turtle's body was pretty much disintegrated within the twisting forces of incredible attack, with Yagura's body appearing as the Tailed Beast's physical form was blasted away. The control seal breaking from the sheer magnitude of the Rasengan, the former Kage came too, and cried out as he whipped through the air within the tornado that blasted him straight into the earth wall holding the lake in.

The explosion that followed sent waves crashing everywhere, spilling over the brim of the barrier. Eventually, when it all died out several seconds later, it left a half full, man made lake in the middle of Konohagakure, and Naruto standing in the middle of it, right hand extended, and panting in exhaustion.

Looking down at his throwing arm, Naruto saw that his skin was peeled and burnt, not to mention cut up around his hand and palm, and bleeding a bit. Withdrawing it, he grabbed his wrist and glared up to where his opponent was, floating unconscious in the lake close to the wall on the other side.

Seeing no sign of danger or the Tailed Beast, the blonde smiled and looked back to where Minato and Kushina were, both of them looking just as exhausted as he was.

"Aww… come on… you guys didn't do much," Naruto chuckled, grinning.

Minato sighed and laughed back, despite his tiredness. "You didn't have much chakra to give… and sustaining a manifestation like us at the same time is too much for a youngster like yourself…"

"You sure did a number on him though, Naruto…" Kushina smiled, her chakra chains dropped, and her energy pretty much depleted. "You've grown so much…"

Naruto grinned and rubbed the back of his head as he looked at his two, teen parents. "Heh-heh… it's hard to take you guys seriously when you're the same age as me…"

Minato and Kushina grinned back.

"Perhaps next time… we can have a more heart to heart chat…" Minato replied, his body suddenly starting to fade away, along with Kushina's. A few seconds later, the blonde boy vanished, shortly followed by the red head, who managed to pass on her parting words to her son before she disappeared.

"_Take care… Naruto…"_

Waving as they faded away, Naruto then turned back to the matter at hand, and began strolling over to where his opponent lay still. His right arm was pretty much screwed up, and he was starting to feel the effects of his Rasengan tremor up his body. He gripped his right arm and bit his teeth to fight against the pain, at the same time, he limp-walked up to the floating Yagura. Thankfully, he was lying face up, his clothes turn and battered, and the damages he sustained from his battle pretty severe, but he was still alive and well.

Sighing, the blonde knelt beside Yagura and tried to pick him up, but instead, ended up collapsing under his own exhaustion. Sitting on top of the water, he felt himself begin to sink, and cursed his luck when he fell into the water with a yelp and a splash.

He was saved from an awkward fate when Sakura jumped down and helped him onto her shoulders, with Shino and Lee also hopping down to help with Yagura. Together, they hopped up to the top of the wall, the blonde hero's teammate sitting him down and beginning to perform first aid, while Lee and Shino laid Yagura down next to them, making sure he was comfortable.

"You did great, Naruto-kun," Sakura exclaimed, smiling up at the boy as he hunched over in exhaustion. Her palms running up and down his back, the girl made sure she worked over his injuries thoroughly, and double-checked to make sure she didn't miss a fatal wound. "I guess this means you've won your round in the Chunin Exams, huh!"

"Heh… you could say that," Naruto chuckled, wincing at the pain in his ribs. He glanced over at the pink haired girl, who stuck her tongue out at him cheekily. "But I think we've long stepped far outside of the bounds of these exams… Sakura-chan…"

"I guess so."

"Yosh, Naruto-kun!" Lee exclaimed, standing in front of his comrade and appraising the boy rather loudly for his liking. "You have become so strong! Able to take down such a powerful beast on your own! Amazing!"

"That's Naruto for yah!" A squeaky voice spoke up, drawing everyone's attention to Naruto's pocket. Gamakichi stuck his head out and waved to everyone. "Hi all!"

"Oh… Gamakichi… I forgot about you…" Naruto chuckled.

"Man! What a ride! What a battle! I swear, I first thought you were done for when you charged at that big guy but then…BOOOM!" Gamakichi threw his arms out in exclamation. "You dropped the bomb shell on that oversized walking soup mix and turned the fight in your favor! Unbelievable!"

"That's a… pretty accurate recount," Shino commented, hands in his pockets and looking down at the worked up toad.

"You should have been in my position! Wow! Talk about a roller coaster!" The frog wiped his brow, sighing. "So boss, should I skedaddle off now? After all, things are wrapped up here on your end, and I've got one heck of a story I wanna share with paps and the boys!"

"Sure… beat it you no good hitchhiker," Naruto chuckled, waving his friend off. The toad saluted, before disappearing in a puff of white smoke.

Sasuke and Gaara soon joined the blonde lying flat out on top of the wall with his other companions, his head resting on Sakura's lap and a satisfied smile on his face. Lee and Shino took up guard positions on either side of them, keeping watch for any enemy ninja. However, the only people they saw around were villagers crowding around the high wall to try and catch a glimpse of the young boy who saved them, and the Jonin rushing about to engage the invaders on different fronts. In spite of the victory here, there was still a battle to a war to be won.

The sky was now clear of the black clouds, Eclipse having been knocked off of his high horse thanks to the force of Naruto's attack. The shockwave had also knocked down a few more buildings, but this was only collateral damage compared to the lives Naruto was able to save with his victory.

"Congratulations on your win, Uzumaki," Gaara smiled down at his friend, kneeling down to shake hands with the victor. Of course, despite the slack in the response, the red haired Suna Genin was satisfied either way. "You had a big victory today…"

"Yeah… but it's not over…yet..." Naruto panted, glancing over his shoulder and towards the horizon. His friends noticed he was trying to catch a glimpse of the arena, but was unable to from his position. "We still have… Orochimaru… and Hikita… to deal with…"

"We scouted the area," Sasuke stated, slipping his hands into his pockets as he glared over the horizon, watching as explosions from the engagements between Konoha and Sound shinobi began spilling into the Hidden Leaf's streets. "Lord Jiraiya and the Mizukage are fighting Orochimaru alongside the Hokage. The proctor is also fighting with them…"

"Gai-sensei and the others are battling the big enemy ninja in the arena," Lee stated, raising his hand over his brow and staring off into the distance. "That man is especially strong, they can barely handle him…"

"Then… we have to… go help them…" Naruto groaned, trying to get up, but was unable to. He collapsed back into Sakura's lap, his faltering mostly due to the pink haired kunoichi pushing him back down.

"Oh no you don't, mister," Sakura fussed, glaring down at him. "You're too injured to go help. Not to mention you're suffering from incredible chakra exhaustion. You won't be able to move for the rest of the day."

"Oh… lovely…" the blonde muttered. Sakura giggled and pinched his cheek, earning a sultry groan from her boyfriend.

"Don't worry. The others can take care of it."

"W-Wait…" Naruto shook his head and the soreness in his cheek off, and looked around at the others. "Where are Hinata-chan, Kin-chan, and Temari-chan?"

"Temari has gone to find Baki, and relay information to him on the situation," Gaara stated, arms folded as he continued to kneel beside his friend, his stoic look still in play. "The Kazekage was really Orochimaru in disguise… and the whereabouts of our father is currently unknown…"

"It's most likely that the Sannin killed the Kazekage before the start of the Third Stage of the Exams, and took his place in order to get close to the Hokage," Shino said, glancing over his shoulder towards the others, his glasses flashing. "He's using the invasion as a cover up to strike at his main objective…"

"The Third Hokage," Lee frowned, clenching his fists angrily. "What an underhanded move!"

"Kin is with Kiba at the moment," Sakura stated, looking over in the direction of the arena, which she could see smoking on the horizon with the huge barrier Orochimaru's minions had set up in plain sight. The explosions seen coming off of the building indicated that a major battle was currently taking place in that general direction. "She's helping to revive our friends, and protect the injured in the med bay. It's really the best thing we Genin can do in this situation against formidable Chunin from the Sound Village. She'll head back home to check on Isaribi and the others later…"

"W-What about Hinata?" Naruto asked with concern.

"She's gone after Miki-san," Sakura replied. "She said she wanted to fight her… _badly_…" The kunoichi visibly trembled, along with Lee and Gaara, who were also there when the purple haired girl impulsively ran off. "That look she gave us was scary…"

Naruto chuckled at his other teammate's willingness to step into battle, something she probably picked up from Anko or Zabuza when they were training. Either way, he figured she would be able to handle herself against the swordswoman.

"I wonder how… Anko-sensei is fairing against Hikita…" Naruto murmured, looking around. "You guys help the villagers... I'll be fine here..."

* * *

_**Back at the Arena…**_

Anko let out a cry of agony when she was punched across the face and sent straight into another wall, disappearing in a blast of dust and a cave in of cement and rubble. Hikita growled and spun around, slashing his sword out and striking Chojuro when he attempted to attack him from behind. The blow from both swords connecting was catastrophic, the shockwave ringing out splitting the ground and sending rubble flying everywhere. However, being the stronger of the two, Hikita sent Chojuro away with just one swipe, a sonic boom ringing out when the anti-gravity from his sword pulsated outwards, and blasted chunks of earth off along with his opponent. The young swordsman bounced along the ground several times, before crashing into the remains of the arena wall.

Pretty much the entire wall encompassing the Chunin Exams main arena had been brought down due to the fight taking place. The only part of the coliseum that was still standing was the main building, which was starting to crumble under the strain of the major battles taking place in and around it.

Hikita staggered back, his body fried in several places with numerous cuts, which started healing the moment he was able to shrug off the last assault made by his opponents. Panting heavily, he glanced around, looking to see Kakashi, deep fried by a Fire Style technique launched by the swordsman, Ao and Kurenai struggle back to their feet. In the wake of the last hour, their battle had carved a huge gap and space in the middle of Konohagakure, the most part of the arena wall knocked over, and the buildings on the other side also demolished.

Gai, who had been sent flying by a Wind Style technique fired by Hikita, pulled himself out of one of the said buildings, and gritted his teeth angrily.

"How unyouthful!" he shouted out at the top of his lungs. "An opponent this strong must receive attacks with dignity, not walk through them!"

At that moment, Asuma's hand popped out of the rubble next to him and crawled out as well, the bearded man bleeding profusely from his head and looking to be in an even worse state then his friend.

"You're just saying that because we're losing," the leader of Team 10 groaned.

Huffing, the scarred swordsman glared around him, scowling at the Jonin who were getting back to their feet.

"_This is bad… I'm taking way too much damage from these curs. I'm losing too much chakra from healing constantly," _Hikita thought furiously, his wounds healing up completely as he spun around, bringing his sword up, which hummed furiously, more rocks and boulders beginning to levitate around him and provide extra protection. _"I may have grossly underestimated these Konohagakure shinobi… thinking I can get to their Kage through them. But they are much stronger then they appear. The sacred stones were supposed to last me out on this one, but they're losing power. I'll need to replace them…"_

Just as he was preparing to take down a wounded and staggered Kakashi, Hikita's eyes widened suddenly when he heard a faint whistle on the wind of an incoming, heavy blade heading in his direction. Spinning around, the swordsman swung his weapon at the attacker behind him, his blade slamming hard into that of another's the resulting shockwave exploding out around them and basically disintegrating the levitating rubble.

Holding his ground, Hikita glared into the eyes of a newcomer to the battlefield, and furrowed his brow when he recognized the eyebrow less, masked face glaring back at him.

Executioner's Blade held in a single-handed grip, a recovered Zabuza Momochi glared back into the death stare of his former companion from the _Village Hidden in the Mists_. Gritting his teeth against the equally strong grapple of the seemingly invincible enemy, the now Konoha swordsman thrust his sword outwards with great effort, and threw Hikita off of him, the man skidding backwards across the earth to a stop, before holding his sword up in defense.

"No-brows-baka… is that you," Hikita asked, his voice raspy and forced as he shared his nick-name with his former comrade.

"Nut-job-kun… it's been too long," Zabuza twirled his sword around and assumed a stance. His other arm, which had been badly damaged in his fight with Kisarabi, was still in bandages and in a sling.

Hikita was about to retort with a smart-ass come back against the man, only to dodge suddenly to the side when a cloud of senbon rained down on top of him. The oversized rogue ninja retreated towards the wall, stopping right next to the rubble that was its remains. Glaring back, he recognized the distinctive masked figure of Zabuza's traveling companion land next to his master, Haku glaring at Hikita from behind the slits of his Hunter-Nin antique mask.

Gritting his teeth, the giant of a ninja suddenly collapsed to his knees and panted heavily in fatigue, looking around to see the Jonin that were present in the area encircle him, and resume defensive stances. Anko was also back up, and joined in the enclave of defenders, all those who had participated in the prolonged battle with the madman barely able to hold their ground due to the wounds they had sustained and the amount of chakra they had used. The only ones that were still able to fight were Gai and Ao.

However, the group of distressed shinobi was soon backed up by the appearance of two more allies jumping down from the arena's main building to join them.

Landing on either side of Zabuza, the two ANBU members Yamato and Yaguo made their presence known, both of them coming to the aid of their allies.

Seeing that he was suddenly surrounded on all sides, Hikita looked around in worry and sweated nervously. Perhaps for the first time since he arrived in this village, he had nothing to laugh or cackle about.

"_Perhaps there are too many…"_

Furrowing his brow, he stood up, swinging his sword around him before propping it onto his shoulder, a small gust of wind passing him and the defenders of Konoha by. Amidst the exhausted and battered Jonin and the new arrivals, Hikita stood with a smirk.

"You rats put up a better fight then I thought," the man boomed, looking around at their tired yet determined faces. He noted that a lot of them were bleeding profusely, and were bruised up badly, particularly Anko, who had taken a lot of hits to the face that it was bloated with purple bruises. Hikita grinned. "But how long are you going to be able to bluff your way through this battle?"

"Speak… for… yourself," Anko panted, looking the man up and down, as he appeared to be trembling. "You're having… a lot of trouble… standing right there… aren't you?"

"Heh… you got me," Hikita exclaimed, looking around at the ANBU glaring at him. "But don't think I'm going to come quietly…" A trail of smoke suddenly whipped through the air past the Jonin and landed beside the swordsman, Eclipse reappearing beside his leader to back him up. "I don't have time to play games… I've got a schedule to keep..."

* * *

_**Across the village…**_

Hinata quickly ducked and weaved around unconscious bodies and in between huge slabs of rubble as she avoided getting hit by her opponent's staff. Byakugan blazing at full power in order to predict and precisely capture each one of the blind girl's movements, the Hyuuga retreated little by little under the swipes made by the flailing staff and its bladed, parasol end.

Miki smiled as she progressed forward, following after her opponent, spinning her staff expertly around her as she attacked, one swipe, followed by a thrust then a stab after another. She varied between combinations, keeping her attacks consistent and repetitive to throw off her opponent, hoping to catch her. However, Hinata was proving to be a rather amusing moving target for her, with woman quickly following her over the battlefield.

Spinning her staff above her, Miki thrust it out, the staff extending and flexing as she lashed out at the purple haired girl. Hinata ducked under the first swipe, then leapt over the white haired girl, flipping and lashing out with a kunai to deflect an upward slash. Their weapons whacked against each other as Hinata leapt over and landed a top of a three meter high slab of concrete, rubble from one of the buildings Eclipse had decimated.

Perched on top, Hinata glared down, kunai held forward as she watched Miki spin her staff around her before swiping up at her. The Hyuuga quickly leapt away and off of it, landing a top of a web of wires crisscrossing three stories above the ground, the clothes line supporting the girl when she landed. The member of Team 7 managed to evade the swipe just in time to watch the concrete boulder she was standing on second before have its top get blasted off by the swipe, debris flying everywhere.

Hinata furrowed her brow, watching as Miki leapt up after her and also land on the wires hanging precariously over the destroyed neighborhood.

"_She's not just fast… she's incredibly strong…" _Hinata thought, blinking as she assumed a stance. _"Each of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen possesses insane amounts of physical strength. I shouldn't be surprised…"_

Smiling, Miki spun her staff around her again and thrust the tip straight at Hinata. The purple haired girl side stepped and shimmied forward swiftly, striking out with a palm-strike, moving from medium range with the girl to close range. Her strike came in contact with the woman's staff, the bamboo effectively blocking the chakra burst. Hinata pressed forward with precise, swift palm strikes, her attacks being blocked one after the other by Miki's firm defense, her staff spinning expertly in her hands and maneuvering around the Hyuuga's attacks to effectively parry and block every single attempted blow.

Backing up a little, Miki spun her staff around her neck and allowed the bladed end to come slashing down at Hinata from above. The purple haired girl spotted the attempted strike and cross her hands above her, blocking the blade with a chakra burst, only to receive a spinning side kick into her stomach when the blind swordswoman effectively opened her up for a low attack. That kick sent Hinata flying across the web of wire, and straight into the building across from them.

Hinata flew threw wall after wall, before exploding out on the other side. Recovering with a quick spin through the air, the young Genin landed in the middle of the road, skidding to a stop. Assuming a defensive stance she looked up to see Miki leap through the holes she had made and come flying straight down at her, staff held back and ready to strike.

Huffing, the Hyuuga leapt to the side and avoided the downward strike, which created a massive shockwave directed towards the earth space, which detonated like a land mine. The dust that engulfed Miki blocked Hinata's view of her opponent, the Hyuuga attempting to seek her out in the thick of it. All of a sudden, the blind swordswoman came lunging out of the dust and straight for her, the spear weapon thrusting at her with the speed of a bullet.

The Konoha Genin leapt backwards to avoid the staff strike, at the same time kicking up at it and sending it skyward instead of her. Miki staggered forward at the lapse in her strike and giggled, spinning her staff back around and continuing her assault, throwing strike after strike at the back-flipping Hyuuga.

"You're incredibly nimble, Hinata-chan!" Miki exclaimed, slashing out again with the tip end of her spear as Hinata flipped away, before landing at a safe distance. The Hyuuga was visibly scarred and battered from her fight, whereas Miki hardly had a scratch on her. "But you're still way out of your league!"

Spinning on the spot, Miki swiftly came in with a thrust of the base end of her spear and jabbed it into Hinata's chest. The girl blocked it, but the blow sent the Hyuuga flying straight through another wall. When she burst out the other side, the girl unintentionally landed in crossfire between Konoha Shinobi and Sound Shinobi, both sides heatedly engaged in close-quarter battle.

When they saw the girl suddenly explode through the wall, they paused for a moment to see what was happening. A split second later, Miki exploded through the wall as well, chasing after the girl. Hinata reacted quickly and back-flipped up into a standing position to avoid a downward thrust from the girl's spear. The swordswoman quickly reengaged with her target and pursued her with a flurry of spear thrusts and swipes through the air, Hinata blocked them this time with effective palm strikes, her hands a lit with blue chakra.

The Sound and Konoha Ninja effectively broke away and created a path for the two girls going at it, not wanting to get caught up in the furious, staff wielding woman. However, some ninja were rather unfortunate to get too close, and two Sound Ninja ended up being decapitated and three more their chests cut up when Miki went in to strike at Hinata. The Hyuuga girl back-flipped away and landed a distance from the white haired kunoichi, watching her charge at her, staff held back.

With a shout, Miki struck at Hinata's mid-section, the Genin leaping back to avoid the swipe, but getting her jacket slashed open on the retreat.

Successful at staggering the girl, Miki grinned and lunged at her once again, her blade at the end of her staff flashing as it was thrust directly into her opponent. However, the swift Hyuuga managed to side step it at the last moment and, spinning into the white haired girl's range, elbowed her in the chest, and slammed the back of her head into Miki's face. The blow staggered the blind girl back, who clutched her face in surprise.

Seeing her opponent staggered, Hinata spun around and lunged at her, her left palm glowing brightly in chakra, which suddenly formed into the shape of a lion's head.

"_Empty Palm: Lions Roar_!" the Hyuuga shouted, driving her palm straight into her opponent's stomach. The blow sent a shockwave ringing out, and a blast of wind to lash at both the Konoha and Sound shinobi surrounding the area.

Miki choked out a wad of spit as she was sent flying several feet, but managed to skid to a stop and hold her ground. Gripping her stomach, she looked up towards her opponent, who reassumed a defensive stance, and awaited the next attack. Hinata saw that her opponent had a blood nose, due to her unorthodox head butt, which did not sit into her pattern of attacks. One of the things Anko taught her was that ninja never stuck to their comfort zones, and would often attack unexpectedly.

Sniffing, the blind swordswoman wiped her nose and smiled, swinging her staff around and retracting its length, sheathing it onto her back.

"You're the first person to ever wound me in one-on-one combat, even when I'm only fighting at half my strength," Miki stated, moving her hands around. Still smiling brightly, she instead grabbed the sword at her side, slowly sheathing the blade out of its scabbard. Once she did, a gust of wind whipped out, circulating her like a small tornado. "However… I'm afraid this fight ends here…"

Miki suddenly blurred in everyone's eyes present, and in a flash of movement, the swordswoman suddenly ended up behind Hinata, sword held out in a strike. Twirling it in a single handed grip, she smirked and sheathed it, the Hyuuga suddenly collapsing to her knees when she heard the katana click back into the owner's sheath. A few seconds later, Hinata's Byakugan deactivated, and the girl fell flat over backwards, blood beginning to seep out of a huge gash in her right side.

Sighing, the blind girl turned around and glanced in the direction of her fallen opponent, hand placed on her sword tenderly. When she detected the Sound and Konoha ninja shifting about nervously on the two different sides of the battlefield, the woman's soft look transformed to a rather terrifying glare, and she rounded on the enemy shinobi surrounding her, and instead of focusing on each other, focused on her as a greater threat.

"Do you boys and girls want to quarrel with me?" Miki asked, her katana clicking out of her sheath when she pushed it up with her thumb, the blade exposed flashing dangerously, "Unless you want to end up like this girl lying here… leave!" Her closed eyes opened to reveal cat-like eyes glaring at them dangerously, flashing from light blue to light green.

The Konoha shinobi didn't feel like crossing blades with the swordswoman, and instead chose to high tail it out of there. The Sound Ninja hesitated for a moment, but then retreated from the battlefield to carry on the fight elsewhere. Smiling when she managed to scare them off, Miki slipped her sword back into the sheath and walked over to where Hinata lay in a small pool of blood.

Stopping beside the girl, she looked down at Hinata's palm, empty face to see her looking up in shock. Thankfully she was still conscious, and when she saw Miki tower over her, blinked in shock.

"I… never stood a chance…" Hinata whimpered, furrowing her brow. "I can't beat you…"

"You're still young, Hinata-chan," Miki exclaimed, smiling brightly down at the girl. "You're incredibly strong for someone your age, easily a Chunin level ninja. It's only unfortunate that your opponent had to be me; a person who has had years of experience in combat, coming from a village renowned for its war like ways…" Kneeling down, the blind girl then held her hand over Hinata's wound, and began healing it. Within seconds, her potent life energy managed to seal the girl's wound, and after a minute of going over the young Hyuuga's body, Hinata was sitting up, feeling better then ever. "I may be blind, but I can see that you have a lot of potential as a ninja. In terms of skill and technique, you're close to matching me in straight out hand to hand combat by a paper-thin margin. However, I'm still physically stronger and faster then you…"

"Your technique is flawless," Hinata smiled, rubbing the back of her head as she looked up at the white haired girl, who grinned back at her. "You have no wasted movements whatsoever…"

"It's not as jumpy or flashy as your friend Lee's, but it's still okay…"

Helping Hinata to her feet, Miki turned to take in the scope of the invasion and its results. Her former opponent was also looking around, the outskirts of Konoha from their perspective looking like Arnhem back in 1944. Building were blown wide open, rubble lay all over the place, trees were uprooted, and smoke was bellowing into the atmosphere on the horizon. The sounds of the shinobi war could be heard echoing all around them.

"What's going to come of this day?" Hinata asked with concern, lacing her fingers together.

"By tomorrow, Konohagakure will be back on its feet, and... though it will take some time, will be prospering from this day's events for months to come," Miki explained, glancing round at the Hyuuga. "People grow from experience, and pain helps them to evolve, to become better then what they were before. But it's only how people respond to pain that shapes their future and the future of others, and has a major impact on determining whether they will walk the path of destruction or the path of rebirth. It's hard to put into full perspective, but I can guarantee you this Hinata-chan; after the invasion, Kirigakure and Sunagakure will put aside their differences, and become friends with Konohagakure…"

"H-How do you know that?"

Miki giggled, tapping her nose. "I'm not at liberty to say…"

* * *

_**Back at the arena…**_

Deep fried with his right arm literally ripped off of him, Orochimaru growled and glared at his two opponents, Mei Terumi and Ryoko Takahashi, who were glaring at him from their side by side position across the roof. Their battle had turned into a real bloody mess, which punched a massive hole in the tiled roof right down into the floor below. However, neither of them considered running, and felt that they should see this fight through and through. Of course, Hiruzen was having the hardest time out of all of them fighting two Kages at once, while Jiraiya and the resurrected Minato were having a hay day on their side.

The Snake Sannin was seething angrily; enraged by the fact that his plans weren't going how he wanted them. The One Tailed Shukaku and its jinchuriki didn't do anything; the Three Tails' battle was forfeited way too early by Naruto, and he was encountering far too much resistance from the Mizukage and Jiraiya to even get to his teacher. In spite of being able to resurrect the Kages to help do battle with his enemies, it wasn't helping him succeed in his mission.

"_This invasion was a complete waste of valuable time and resources…" _Orochimaru growled, furrowing his brow as he clutched his stump of an arm. _"That woman's Lava abilities have sealed up my arm, and I've lost too much chakra to regenerate or shed bodies."_

"This fight is over, Orochimaru!" Mei shouted, with her friend smirking beside her and twirling her sword around.

"I've always wanted a Snake doll plushy! I'll have Anko-chan make one out of your skin!" Ryoko giggled evilly, furrowing her brow at the man.

The Sannin sweated nervously and grinned back, assuming another fighting stance. "Don't think that my fights with you are over… I can still kill you…"

"Uhh… _no_… you can't!" Ryoko scoffed. "You've got one arm and no balls. Don't pretend you can still raise a kunai to us!"

Orochimaru frowned at her, his body radiating with killing intent.

While he was busy glaring his opponents down and Jiraiya was hammering techniques away at Minato like he was a moving punching bag, two rather unlikely people suddenly showed up outside of the barrier. Appearing next to the three ANBU standing by and ready to jump in when and if the barrier falls, they became a tad bit distracted when they saw a young, red haired woman carrying a raven haired girl on her shoulders suddenly appear.

It actually made the whole scene a tad bit more hilarious that they were carrying shopping and she was eating a chocolate bar.

"Hello!" Mia exclaimed.

"Umm…hi!" one of the masked ninja kneeling by the barrier replied. Little Haru waved back, giggling happily.

"Excuse me, ma-am… but this isn't a safe place to be at the moment," the hooded team leader said, turning to the two girls.

"You're right; this isn't a safe place to be!" Mia smiled, flashing her Rinnegan at the ninja and making the Black Ops ninja jump in surprise. "Not when _**I'm**_ here…"

"Uhh…"

"I was having such a nice day, until some idiot heroes decided to try and jump me while I was out shopping with my baby sister!" Mia said, taking a bite out of her chocolate bar and scowling at the barrier blocking her way. "I have come to make a formal complaint to the Hokage about the lack of proper respect this village's shinobi have to their civilians!"

Apparently... she thinks the ninja that attacked her earlier were Konoha shinobi...

She strolled forward, stopping in front of the purple shield blocking her way. The three ANBU aimed to get her away from it, but hesitated when they felt the heat of the shield singe them, while she got to within an arm's length of it. The Sound Four maintaining the barrier spotted the kunoichi walking up to their chakra made wall, but paid little mind, since they doubted that _she_ could do anything.

"Tsk, it's just a mom and her kid," Sakon smirked. _"No need for concern…"_

"Not even their ANBU can break through this thing," Kidomaru laughed. "What good is a boring old housewife gonna do?"

"Miss! Stay away from that barrier!" the ANBU with the cat mask shouted, rising to his feet. "If you touch it, you'll burn up!"

"Oh please, this thing?" Mia smirked, knocking her fist against the purple wall, her hand bouncing off of it and singing a bit from the heat, but creating a ripple when she tapped it. "I invented this barrier ages ago while I was sitting in the hot springs and I didn't want guys sneaking in and molesting me. So whenever I visited a resort I put up a shield like this that set perverts on fire if they tried anything. It was funny. My older student called it the _Pandora's Box: The Impregnable Purple Barrier_, my younger student called it the _Purple Prism that-keeps-perverts-out_, but I believe they call it the _Four Violent Flames Battle Encampment_ today." She tilted her head as she looked the wall up and down. "It's created by a person when they use their energy to manipulate the particles in the air, and by vibrating them at a high velocity, create a hot shield. Whenever someone comes in contact with it, they burn up as a result of the super heat created by the friction of the fast moving particles. I can create one of these barriers from scratch by using three spoons and a fork!"

Mia giggled and looked back at the ANBU, sticking her tongue out at them. If it weren't for their masks, everyone would be able to see that they were gawking.

"Well… I can create one using any inanimate objects or myself, but these jokers need four people to create one… geez. My teachings have really gone down hill," Mia raised her right hand and pressed it against the side of the barrier. The Sound Four who were watching were now looking at her in silent surprise, seeing as that she was able to touch the chakra wall and not get burnt. "You see, the trick to get through the barrier is to find the 'crease'. The barrier resonates with a high frequency sound too high in pitch for dogs to hear, but all you have to do is create an opposing high frequency sound that effectively cancels it out. It's quite handy to carry around one of those forks that vibrate, a wind chime or a triangle, but I prefer the good old fashion chakra palm!"

Her hand suddenly began to glow a bright blue before changing to the same color as the barrier itself. With a quick twist of her palm, the wall in front of her suddenly shattered, and the shards of purple chakra fell away, exposing not only the Sound Four but everybody else inside the barrier. All of the fighting effectively stopped as soon as Mia deactivated the barrier, leaving the entire airspace on top of the arena's main building effectively open for anything and anyone to walk in.

Smiling brightly, the young woman gave Orochimaru and everybody else the peace sign.

"Peace of cake!"

"Cake! Cake! Cake!" Little Haru cheered, clapping her hands.

"How did she… whe… when did she… huh?" Sakon and the other members of the Sound Four muttered, looking around in shock.

"How did you break through the barrier?" Orochimaru seethed, glaring at the red head and the girl on her shoulders. "The _Four Corner Battle Encampment Wall_ is impregnable!"

"You would think so, wouldn't you girlie?" Mia exclaimed, taking a bite of her chocolate, while looking the man who looked like a poor cross-dresser up and down. "You must have had a pretty lousy teacher to not know that _**every**_ single element and technique has a weakness."

Hiruzen sweat dropped as he looked at the woman with a rather distraught expression on his face. "Umm… I'm… _his_… teacher…"

The Snake Sannin grinned, rounding on the newcomers instead, and the ANBU flanking around her. "So… it appears I have met an equal in the _Village Hidden in the Leaves_ in terms of jutsu knowledge and strength. How fascinating. I never knew such a ninja even existed, especially a kunoichi."

"I'm not a kunoichi," Mia snapped back, pulling out another chocolate bar from her pocket, while throwing away the wrapper of her other one. "Hmm… let's see… _Butter Finger_… hmm… why not! I love peanut butter…" She opened up the bar and began eating it, smirking up at the Sannin who was looking at her oddly now, as was everybody else. Everything just became awkward in a matter of seconds. "I am just a humble, sake, and soup lover, who is looking for a new muse in life. I think I will try… _dancing_ for the next few years. I never _**was**_ good at dancing though. I'll be sure to get some lessons in and not procrastinate like I did a thousand years ago…"

Orochimaru gritted his teeth impatiently at the ignorance of the woman. However, it was then he noticed that both the woman and the girl on her shoulders had the Rinnegan, the ringed eyes glowing brightly for everyone to see. Blinking in shock at realizing that the ultimate prize was standing right in front of him, the Sannin grinned and took a step towards them, removing his free and still working hand from his stump of an arm and taking a fighting stance.

"So… you possess the eyes of the legendary Sage of Six Paths!" Orochimaru exclaimed, catching Mia's attention. The young woman looked up a bit with a start and her mouth full.

"Wha…?"

"I may not succeed in killing my former master today, but I will be taking those eyes _from_ you!" Orochimaru shouted, before turning towards his bodyguard standing around with slack-jawed look on their faces. "Sakon! Kidomaru! Tayuya! Jirobo! Get them!"

The Sound Four leapt forward on his order and landed in front of Mia and Little Haru, forming hand seals and ready to attack. The Great Sage, seeing them round on her, giggled and held up her right hand, forming an unidentifiable hand sign of her own, and suddenly, a rush of wind and ripple of blue energy starting from her feet, shot out in every direction. The ring of blue encompassed the entire village, and after passing the walls, dissipated.

"Sorry… I can't play today…" Mia giggled. "I just got a manicure. I don't want to ruin my finger nails."

"_**Spider Web**_!" Kidomaru shouted, rearing back and trying to spit out his net attack, his targets standing square in his sights. However, the moment he did so, all that came out of his mouth was saliva and nothing else.

Everybody just stopped moving on the spot, when they saw the four armed ninja hock a loogie instead of his white web. Blinking, Kidomaru stepped back in bewilderment.

"Huh?" He tried again.

Nothing…

Then again

Still nothing…

"Why can't I… WHAT'S GOING ON?" He shouted, forming a hand seal and concentrating his chakra. However, when he tried to focus his energy, he had a startling realization. "My chakra… it's…"

"Earth Release: Earth Shaking Palm!" Jirobo tried to attack using a technique of his own, slamming his hand onto the roof to try and collapse the area around Mia and trip her up. However, all that resulted was a loud clap and a sore palm for the poor guy that tried. "Argh! What the heck!"

Tayuya pulled out her flute and tried to play a tune and summon her familiars, but all she got was an annoying whistle. "Hey! What the fuck! Huh?"

"NONE OF OUR TECHNIQUES WORK!" Sakon shouted, forming hand seals and trying to do a simple clone jutsu. "WHAT'S HAPPENING?"

The summoned dead corpses of the Kages also tried to perform techniques, so did Jiraiya, Mei, Hiruzen, and even the ANBU. But after several tries and nothing, everybody was left just standing around and scratching their heads.

"WHAT'S GOING ON YOU IDIOTS?" Orochimaru shouted, looking around at his lackeys. "EXPLAIN!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Mia asked. "I simply nullified within the range of the _Village Hidden in the Leaves_ everyone's ability to use ninja techniques. If you guys won't play nice, then I won't let you use ninjutsu at all!" The woman waved her finger at all of them as if she were their mother scolding them, which was pretty funny. "Shame on you!"

Everybody was stumped.

Within seconds of saying that, a sudden uproar of shouting and yelling echoed across the entire village, with ninjas all round complaining about their inability to use any techniques whatsoever. The fighting stopped, and the warring sides began questioning what was going on and demanded the other side some answers as to this strange phenomenon.

It was quite a pain in the ass for all those fighting on the frontlines when they suddenly couldn't use any ninjutsu and genjutsu. People who were running up walls or hanging from ceilings suddenly fell flat to the ground when their chakra vanished and weren't able to hold them up. Even the Jonin fighting Hikita down below paused abruptly when their attacks dissipated in mid execution; fire balls vanishing and snakes just turning to dust. Even the summons unexpectedly vanished from the battlefield.

Hikita was fuming that he couldn't do anything, his gauntlet losing its energy.

"How the heck did you do that?" Mei Terumi asked, looking over at the red haired woman responsible for the unexplainable occurrences.

"I am the master of the _impossible_!" Mia proudly stated, finishing off her butter finger chocolate and throwing the wrapper away, dusting her hands down. "Because I have such a huge chakra level, I simply directed it outwards in a small pulse and canceled out everybody else's chakra within range. I can nullify anyone's attacks or abilities, since I possess every single nature type. But this is only temporary. Everybody should be able to use their techniques in the next…" She looked down at her wrist but realized she didn't have a watch. "Oh… hang on…" She looked up towards the sky and determined the position of the sun. "Five hours. However, I will keep taking away your ninjutsu privileges until you start behaving!" She pointed at the Sound Four, looking at her, confounded.

"This is… _ridiculous_…" Kidomaru blanched.

"Oh… this is perfect!" Ryoko chuckled. Throwing away her sword, which had gone limp, and pulling out from her pouch a couple of brass knuckles, she slammed her fists together. She stepped towards Orochimaru, grinning wildly with an aura of killing intent wafting off of her. "Now that we can't use chakra whatsoever, its fair game all round! I can just beat the living snot out of you instead!"

"Oh… that's right!" Mei spun back around towards the Snake Sannin, also holding up her fists. "He's injured and weak, and relies primarily on ninjutsu for his strength. He's vulnerable!"

Orochimaru backed off fearfully, the Sound Four accompanying him in his step down. The three Kages that were summoned by the Snake Sannin, though it took a minute longer then the other techniques, suddenly crumbled away into dust, their bodies returning to the earth, and revealing the sacrificed individuals that were given to create them. When those obstacles were removed, every single ninja on top of the arena building, Jiraiya, Hiruzen, the Mizukage and the ANBU, focused their attention on Orochimaru.

Backing up at the sight of the approaching enemy, Sakon turned towards his master nervously.

"Retreat?"

"That would be best," Orochimaru nodded in agreement.

"GET EM'!" Jiraiya shouted, sounding his war call.

Immediately, the Sound Four and the Sannin turned tail and fled, with Ryoko, Mei, the ANBU and Jiraiya chasing after them. In spite of not being able to use chakra, the ninja could still jump far and run fast, meaning that those who ran first got a head start.

"Hey! Get back here cowards!" Ryoko shouted, diving off of the building after them.

Watching them run, Mia shook her head in amusement and placed her hands on her hips. Little Haru was giggling excitedly as she watched the chase game going on and wanted to join in, but her big sister held her back. Relieved that it was over, the Third Hokage collapsed to the roof and sat down, removing his helmet and wiping his brow, while more ANBU showing up on the scene (albeit lots of trouble clambering up the walls) surrounded him for his protection.

"Some people never grow up…" Mia giggled, pulling out an apple from her pocket and taking a bite. She then walked up to the Kage, the ANBU parting to allow the distinguished sage the privilege to talk to the village leader. "Now, Hokage-sama… I have a complaint to make…"

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

_**

* * *

**_

_**Omake:**_

It was a nice quiet day up in Naruto's estate, the main loungeroom currently occupied by Isaribi, Hinata, Ryoko, Haku and Kin. After a long day out of work, the five individuals felt a nice, relaxing day, spending quality time with each other was the most healthy thing to do. While Isaribi and Kin were happily watching TV, which was featuring a movie entitled Princess Gale: Warrior of the North starring Yukie Fujikaze, Hinata, Ryoko and Haku were playing a game... well... unlike the usual boardgames that were sold at every convenient and retail store out there, the residents of the Naruto Estate had a very different idea of how to play games.

At that moment, the three of them were locked in a desperate monopoly of drinking. A snakes and ladders board was used as the basis of the game, with scrabble plates used as chess pieces, shots of sake used as checkers... or... players, and the battleships taken out of the battleship game were... what appeared to be the houses in monopoly.

Rolling the dice, Ryoko grinned and took three scrabble pieces and lined them up beside a shot glass.

"Eight in a row, scrabble spells "kunoichi", E6, everyone drink!" the swordswoman exclaimed, taking a shot.

"You sunk my battleship!" Hinata shouted, taking a shot of sake and downing it. She giggled and wiped her lips. "Scrabble piece D climbs up the ladder!"

"This game makes no sense whatsoever," Haku groaned, shaking his head.

"My turn!" Hinata exclaimed, picking up the monopoly money beside her and tossing it onto the board. "Dealer places fifty monopoly money! That means your scrabble ship goes down snake lane! Pay up!"

"Everyone drink!" Ryoko took another shot.

"Why _drink_... I mean? What is... shouldn't you... this game... UGH!" Haku threw his arms in the air. "I will never understand you people!"

"YAHTZEE!" Ryoko cheered.

"Hey, here's a hint Hinata," Kin called over, pointing down at the board. "Take the four scrabble pieces and line them up to the battleship, you'll get a straight flush for another shot!"

"Oh... good eye," the Hyuuga exclaimed, moving a shot glass along the board. "You owe me six in a row."

"SERIOUSLY! HOW THE HELL DO YOU PLAY THIS GAME?" Haku shouted, now getting fed up of not knowing what the hell he was doing.

At that very moment, Mia came bounding into the house through the doors. Humming happily, she then hopped over to where the boy and his girl companions sat, and leaned over to check out their boardgame. Tilting her head, the red head smiled when she recognized the game.

"Oh! Another game of _Battleship Snakes and Scrabble Shots_," she piped.

"Yeah... and it's getting good," Hinata smiled.

"Why are there three boards..." Ryoko groaned, the number of shots she had taken starting to take their toll.

"Don't quit now, Haku is so far ahead!" Mia exclaimed.

"I'm winning?" the boy looked down, scratching his head.

Mia giggled and twirled on the spot, walking around the small group. "Hey! Has anyone seen Naruto-kun?"

"Oh, I think he's out in the hotsprings Mia..." Isaribi stated, pointing over her shoulder.

"Thank you!" Singing happily, the ever cheerful Sage of Six Paths bounded down the hallway and headed for the outdoor baths, leaving the kunoichi and a distraught Haku to their game.

"Five scrabble pieces buys one battleship," Ryoko said.

"And Haku wins!" Hinata shouted, both she and the swordswoman throwing their arms in the air. _**"YAHTZEE!"**_

"Yes! I won!" Haku laughed, jumping to his feet. "Yeaaahh... wait... how the hell did I win...?"


	44. The Aftermath

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_The Aftermath_

The invasion effectively went south when everybody lost their ability to do jutsu. Although there were many who felt that going head to head with just fists was a good idea, it would take far too long. Eventually, orders from the higher ups went out to all Sound and Suna forces and they pulled back when reinforcement shinobi and regular soldiers of the Land of Fire stationed at the village at the time moved in. Orochimaru was safely evacuated with the Sound Four, all of them pretty much traumatized by the merry chase which went up in numbering participants from ten pursuers upwards. But once they were out of the village, they were considered safe.

After watching the Sunagakure and Sound Forces pull back, Konohagakure went about securing the village. The Jonin back in the arena were able to catch a break from the sudden cease in ninjutsu and genjutsu capabilities, meaning Hikita was forced to pull back. He retreated alongside Eclipse, showing quite a bit of dexterity above all the others. ANBU was sent in pursuit of him, but they wound up empty handed when they lost him at the river leading out of the village. Seeing the enemy off and retreating onto the horizon meant that the shinobi that had been put under pressure could finally relax.

However, things weren't so peachy for a lot of other people.

Hiding deep in the forests outside of Konohagakure about twenty kilometers out, Hikita and Eclipse were camping out, resting from the failure of their assault. Of course, while the boy dressed in black was sitting cross-legged atop of a fallen tree, his team leader was hunched over a small stream, shockingly enough, throwing up.

Coughing and retching in agony, the man spat up not just his lunch, but also blood, which splattered over the grass and rocks beneath him. Gripping his sword impaled in the ground for support, the giant man panted heavily to catch his breath from his convulsions, not only breaking out into a horrible sweat, but also suffering a blurry vision.

With his ungloved left hand, he gripped his face and groaned, sick as ever.

"You're dying… Hikita-kun…" a soft voice spoke, the swordsman gasping and looking up in shock. Eclipse, also alerted to the new presence, glancing over to his left to see the shadow of a person dressed in black robes and a hood over her head standing in the shadows.

The rogue ninja also looked behind him to see the person in question walk out of the shadows, masked by the shadows of her hood, but her smile visible. The brown haired, giant of a swordsman tried to lift himself up and off of the ground, but was unable to due to the pain racking at his body. He coughed up more, hand over his mouth. When he removed it, he saw blood splattered over his hand.

"Yeah… it looks like it…" the man wheezed out, his voice rougher then usual.

The hooded woman walked up to him, and gently rested a hand on his big shoulder. Caressing him gently, she sighed and lowered her head a bit, sensing his troubles.

"You've lived for over a hundred years now; two hundred and twenty three years to be exact. You're getting old. Heh…" the mysterious figure exclaimed, shaking her head in amusement. "Being the seventh and _only_ original member of the very first _Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist_ still alive is a really heavy burden to carry, huh. It must be even harder, existing as just a shadow of your former self from all those years ago…"

"I remember…" Hikita chuckled, a small grin spreading across his lips as he spoke. "I remember meeting with the First Mizukage when I was only eleven years old. He took me up to the balcony overlooking our village… the _**leader**_ of our village escorting _**me**_… of all people. When we reached the top, there were six other boys and girls my age, all of them lined up on the podium. When he stood before us… he smiled down at us, and said 'you… children of this great village, have been chosen to protect and carry on the future of our people. Your courage, and your willingness to safe guard our homes, will be measured in the burdens and responsibilities you will be carrying with you.' He then gave each of us one of his swords, the weapons of legend he himself used to conquer the lands and create Kirigakure… _Kubikiri, Aries, Deity, Samahada, Fang, Unlearnt, Hiramekarei_… they were his most precious treasures. Being just a kid, I was so proud and happy to be picked to protect our village…"

As he leant over, the woman behind him smiled as she listened. In spite of the great pain he felt as he spoke, he could still form coherent speech with his mouth.

"Out of all my friends and my comrades… _**I**_ carried our village's weight as best as I could, for so many years. It may have been heavy and painful… but I still did so without question or complaint…" Hikita coughed again, gritting his teeth. "And I had lost so much…" Shaking his head, he opened his eyes and looked over his shoulder to the woman comforting and confiding in him. "I have carried my sword for over 223 years… doing justice for Kirigakure and its people…"

"And you still do…" She rubbed his back, feeling his scars heal up under her touch. "Did you kill any of the Jonin during your attack on Konohagakure…?"

"None…"

"Good…" she nodded her head. "You, Yagura-kun, Miki-chan and Eclipse-kun performed your jobs… perfectly…" The smile she wore was only matched by the appeared of her black Sharingan and the red tomoes spinning from under the shadows of her hood.

Hikita sighed and rose to his feet, wiping the stream of blood running from his lower lip against the back of his gauntlet. The woman looked up at him when he stood up, and he looked down at her with concern.

"Are you sure… it's going to work?"

"Positive…"

"Mm-hmm…" the man sighed and hunched over, despite his attempts to act macho. In truth, he was still in great agony. "My body feels like it's been torn apart on the inside…" The swordsman emphasized this by clutching his chest, feeling his lungs tremor uncomfortably. "My chakra coils are screwed and my muscles and deteriorating…"

"Why are you so damaged?" the woman asked, with Eclipse still sitting over on his log, listening to the pair intently. "Is it because of your sword?"

Hikita chuckled and glanced down at the sword supporting him. "The reason the First Mizukage chose me to be the wielder of _Deity_… was because he was well aware of the costs associated with it, and saw me as the perfect candidate because of my unique bloodline."

_Deity_, the weapon in question, began to hum quietly indicating that its powers were returning to it. The man paid it little mind and continued talking.

"In fact, every one of the seven swords had a price needing to be paid… and that was usually owed in blood. The duel lightning swords _Fang_ cut your chakra capacity in half, making you weak in order to keep its blades sharp. _Samehada_, the sword with a consciousness of its own, could attack its owner and choose its wielder any time it wanted to; a great risk to those lusting for its power. Then there was _Aries_, the weapon that cut your life-span in half in order to give the sword life and personality of its own. You literally shared a span of a hundred years between the two of you._ Hiramekarei_, unlike the other swords,ruined you by taking away one's self-confidence, and filling the wielder's existence with dread and misfortune."

Eclipse and the hooded Uchiha listened in carefully to every word the swordsman spoke as he leant against the tree for more support, still looking completely drained. It was a history they felt they needed to hear, as this was one of the only times they saw the man open up.

If they didn't listen, then Hikita would most likely walk off depressed again, and they would receive the full silent treatment from him… which was pretty _sad_… (In a bad way)

"The Executioner's Blade _Kubikiri _was a cursed sword. The original wielder of the sword only lived for ten years before being killed by his brother, and had his sword taken from him. The wielder of _Kubikiri_ would only live for a few years of their life, before being replaced by their offspring or sibling, which was the price needing to be paid to carry it. The Momochi Clan, once the greatest clan in the history of Kirigakure, carried the sword on for decades, until their numbers were reduced to only one… Zabuza Momochi…" Hikita chuckled when he remembered his former, masked team member. "That sword really was the Executioner's Blade… since it would kill off its master in warrior's-death fashion at any time, anywhere. I always felt sorry for the poor bastard who wielded the weapon. Zabuza was the longest to ever carry that sword. That was until he had it stolen…"

"He was with Ryoko back in the village," Eclipse spoke up, looking over at his master with a stoic expression in play. "I sensed he had a different weapon with him when he faced us down…"

"Yeah. It's a disgrace for a kenjutsu master to lose their weapon in battle. But in Zabuza's case… it must be a huge relief for him. The cursed weapon has finally moved from his butchered family tree… to another's," the swordsman spoke, smirking at the irony. "The sword _Unlearnt_ takes away one of the wielder's five senses as the price for being its master… something Kariya learned the hard way. The man lost his sense of _touch_… meaning when Zabuza killed him when the _Hurricane of the Mist_ was protecting the Mizukage, he didn't know he was sliced in half till he was lying in a pool of his own blood…"

At that moment, a rustling in the bushes caught all of their attention, and Miki came striding towards them. Her parasol held above her, the white haired girl smiled at them as she approached, stopping beside her hooded client.

"_Unlearnt_ took my sight away from me the moment I drew it from its scabbard," the blind girl said, looking around at them. "I knew the risks when I accepted the sword… and trained to make myself much stronger then I ever was without it…"

Hikita smirked at her. "Which is why you're better then Kariya ever was…" the swordsman nodded, before looking back towards the hooded Uchiha. "And finally… my sword _Deity_… is the most dangerous to use. It grants the wielder incredible power over gravity, literally defying it; but the one using it risks suffering the incredible rebound from the weapon. Whenever someone swings the sword, there is a ninety nine percent chance the wielder's body will be ripped to shreds from the inside out or even the outside in with the first attack. That is why _**I**_ use it… and will be the only one to _ever_ use it…" The man's smile fell as he spoke, looking away in shame, away from Miki and his hooded companion.

Miki blinked, tilting her head. "Hikita-sensei…"

The man frowned and looked away even more. "It was a fact _I_ learned… when I tried to pass the weapon on to my daughter…"

The white haired girl regretted wanting to know beyond that.

Sighing, Hikita glanced back over, expression stoic, and exhausted bags seen under his eyes. "Until my job is done, I will not be returning to Kirigakure or handing my sword over to anyone. When I die; I take my weapon's abilities with me to my grave. That is the last thing the First Mizukage ever told me about the sword… that its curse will one day end, along with the others…" Pushing himself off of the tree, he stretched out and placed his hands on his hips, glancing back down at the woman beside him.

"So… how much longer do you have to live?" the Uchiha asked.

"I have two years… at the most…" Hikita replied. "The damage I'm receiving is getting worse with every month that passes, which is why I wear this…" He said this while raising his gauntlet and flashing his stolen stones to them. "The Stone of Gelel and the other gems extend my life span… but not indefinitely; the best it can do is help me cheat death for another month…"

The Uchiha nodded, smiling at him and reaching up, placing her hand on his cheek. "Your work will not be in vein…" She then turned towards Miki, watching the girl smile and nod up towards her. "You're done here, Miki-chan… thank you…"

The blind girl nodded and smiled, before holding her hand out. The hooded Uchiha pulled out a big envelope with the pay for the mission, which the girl took gingerly and pocketed it. Bowing thanks to the two, and then to Eclipse, Miki then headed off, leaving the scene without another word. After seeing her off, the hooded woman glanced back over to Hikita, her Sharingan eyes locking onto him.

"I will now fulfill my part and head down to the village. I foresee Itachi and Kisame are on their way, and I must be there in order to meet them." Hikita nodded back, watching as she prepared to leave. However, before she was able to walk off, one of his huge hands grabbed her arm and held her firm, the masked kunoichi looking over her shoulder at him.

"Shall I have Eclipse shadow you into the village?" Hikita asked, a light coloring on his cheeks catching the woman's attention.

Smiling underneath her hood, she turned around and gestured him to lean in. When he did, she placed her hands behind his head and kissed him on the lips. After a brief exchange of tenderness, she pulled away and smiled, watching him straighten up before she turned and walked off.

"I'll be fine, Hikita-kun…"

It took a full minute till she was completely out of sight, and when she was, Hikita turned his attention back to Eclipse, who was just staring at him from his log.

"We should head back to the Land of Grass… it'll be safer there…" the man stated, picking himself up and walking in the opposite direction that Miki and the Uchiha went in. Eclipse hopped off of the log, and followed after the man, the four gatherers leaving the area with no trace they were ever there, accept for the blood stains beside the stream.

Things appeared to be becoming very interesting…

* * *

_**One day after the invasion…**_

"I can't believe I'm back in here…" Naruto groaned, staring up at the ceiling of the hospital wing he was confined to, counting the holes in the panels above him. He was bandaged up for all the burns and such he received in his battle with the Three Tailed Giant Turtle, not to mention he was chakra exhausted again, meaning he could barely move again.

"Is it going to be like this every time I exhaust my chakra; my body just stops functioning all of a sudden?" the blonde asked himself, shaking his head, in spite of it being in a brace. "I hate myself sometimes…"

"Be grateful you have that kind of body, gaki," Anko spoke over from her bed on Naruto's right, the purple haired Jonin lying right by the window with her body in bandages too, her nose in stitches, and her leg and arm in a cast. "At least you didn't have to fight some tank of a swordsman that shrugged off whatever you threw at him and get tossed around like some rag doll…"

"That goes for all of us…" Kakashi spoke up, reading his Icha Icha comfortably in his bed across the walkway from them, sitting up with a towel wrapped around his face. His leg was in a cast and his arms were bandaged up from lightning burn. Not only was he hit by Raiton techniques unleashed by his opponent several times over, the masked Jonin's own attacks also rebounded off of his target and gave him flash marks all over him. "Be thankful that we're still alive…"

"Speak for yourself…" Asuma groaned, lying in his bed with his legs splayed out and bandaged from fire burns, and his chest exposed and wrapped up. His face had Band-Aids and patches making him look like some sort of Picasso nightmare, with an icepack on his crotch. "I wish I was dead right now. When people say ninja never fight fairly, they mean it…"

"I just don't know why they stuck us in the same room with that guy…" Kurenai spoke up, pointing towards Yagura lying in the bed not too far from them. The grey haired boy was unconscious, and in an intensive care state, wrapped up like a mummy with casts on his arms and legs, and linked up to I.V's. Naruto had really done a number on him. "Are you sure he's okay?"

"He's fine… just recovering from a mind-control episode and a hell of a lot of razor burn," Kakashi commented, turning a page. "I have to say, out of all the countries the Forth Mizukage could turn up in after he went missing for so many years; he turns up in Konohagakure. Heh… what are the odds?"

"This village has always been the center of attention throughout history," Anko muttered, sucking on the straw linked to her orange juice. "I mean, we've been on the receiving end of a lot of things; kidnapping attempts made by Kumo, wars waged against us by our own rogue ninja, ravaged by blonde menaces throughout history, plagued by perverts, it kind of all adds up after a while…"

"Hey!" Naruto shouted.

"I resent that!" Kakashi also called across.

"I… don't think she mentioned you in particular… Kakashi," Asuma chuckled. The silver haired Jonin took note of his blunder and quietly slunk back into his reading awkwardly.

"Good job giving it to him, gaki!" Anko exclaimed, smirking at her student and holding a fist out to him. "Fighting the Three Tailed Giant Turtle all by your lonesome, now that's impressive…"

Naruto furrowed his brow at the woman. It took only a few seconds for his teacher to realize he couldn't move at all and grinned awkwardly.

"Oh… sorry…"

"Thanks anyway, Anko-sensei," Naruto replied, smiling. "What do you think that says about my skills at this point?"

"Definitely Jonin level if you can tackle on a Tailed Beast! It took the Second Mizukage from Kirigakure to step in to bring that thing down when its jinchuriki lost control all those years ago… and you just did his job all by yourself," Asuma chuckled. "You even managed to save a lot of villagers while you were at it…"

"If Gaara hadn't shown up when he did, I wouldn't have been able to do anything as far as picking up each one of those villagers in trouble with my shadow clones, and running like hell to escape the tsunami," Naruto chuckled. "I also did save the village from quite a bit of property damage."

"Well, you certainly showed great initiative on the battlefield, economic thinking, and displayed incredible strength in the face of great adversity," Kakashi eye smiled over at him. "Exactly what the Forth Hokage did when he saved the village from the Nine-Tailed Fox when it attacked…"

"BTW… fur ball is still pissed off at having half of his soul sucked out of him during the resealing process," Naruto pointed, giving the silver haired Jonin a grin. "I may be on good terms with the fox now, but I still get a mouthful from him during visiting hours…"

"Tell him I said hi," Kurenai smirked over at the boy, who smiled back. "But you did really well out there Naruto. You defended the _Village Hidden in the Leaves_, as well as saved a lot of lives…"

"How did my teammates do?" Naruto asked, looking around curiously. "Certainly they deserve a bit of credit, after the exams and everything…"

"Of course," Anko chuckled, scratching her nose, only to wince when it burned sharply at being touched. "Ow! I just heard earlier today… while they were wheeling me through the hospital, that Hinata had engaged some really scary looking, white haired girl in battle; one of the third party enemy ninja's. The Chunin I heard this from were in the middle of a battle with a platoon of Sound Ninja, when she suddenly came plowing through the frontlines, pursued by the bitch. While they fought, they cut down a lot of the enemy in their wake. I gotta say… Hinata really pulled through against that woman…"

"I heard she nearly died out there," Asuma said, nodding his head and gesturing to Kurenai. "But then I saw her later onwards, looking as fresh as a daisy and had a big smile on her face."

"It must have been a tie," Kurenai smiled. "I knew she'd pull through though."

"She was determined to fight Miki, since their match was put on hold. I heard from Sakura that she was really determined," Naruto shrugged. "Independent spirits, my teammates…"

"Oh. Sakura's match." Kakashi spoke up, lowering his book. "She did surprisingly well against Gaara. That fight could have gone either way if it kept going."

"Although Gaara would have most likely won, she still showed an exceptional increase in her skills and abilities after the short month," Kurenai pointed. "Her first fight against Tenten in the preliminaries was surprising; for her to be able to beat one of Gai's own students. She displayed remarkable agility and technique, as well as taking advantage of her surroundings to use freely at her disposal. Then she fought toe to toe with the Subaku no Gaara whom not even Neji, the best Genin in Konohagakure next to Naruto and Lee at the time, could beat."

"She also showed excellent ingenuity and resourcefulness in her training," Anko made that note too. "She has incredible potential to later surpass a kunoichi such as Kurenai or myself… maybe even Tsunade!"

"Lee has progressed far. I never knew he could be so physically strong and versed in taijutsu that he could still perform on the battlefield while unconscious," Asuma said, looking around at the others as he gave his personal review on the Genin. "There was also Kiba, who showed an uncanny deception and strategy level that could rival Naruto's, and he was able to bring down a high level ninja like Kankuro. I'd say that's shelving some of his direct fighting characteristics, and moving more into thinking first before acting."

"But then there is Ino, in her fight against a powerful opponent like Lee, she showed an almost phenomenal increase in her fighting style and physical strength, and put her brain to good use in a one-on-one battle," Kurenai cut in, wanting to point out that particular student. "Even though it was a close quarter fight, she made sure to put a lot of distance between herself and her opponent in order to think up a strategy that would work against someone way above her class."

"Exceptional team leaders are those who think ahead before they move, and put the safety of others above their own," Kakashi summarized, glancing round at his bedridden comrades. "Out of all the Genin that participated in the exams to display this level-headed thinking in the heat of battle, I'd say Ino, Naruto, Sakura, and Kiba, would make the cut. It's not just displaying great initiative and brute strength that makes an excellent Chunin, it's also the ability to outsmart your enemy, think around dangerous obstacles, and completing a mission with minimal risk to your comrades. I'd say all the Genin that participated can be classed in this category, but only a select few would most necessarily make it…"

"What with the invasion and everything, and the casualties we have suffered," Anko spoke up, looking out the window towards the village outside, which was now undergoing serious repairs. "I think the best course of action to take at this point, is to replenish our regular shinobi forces by promoting the more seasoned Genin to Chunin, in order to sure up our numbers. Not to mention we'll need every available hand to take on missions that ordinary Genin cannot perform…"

The Jonin could only agree with what the leader of Team 7 had to say, and soon enough, discussions on the reconstruction of the village began.

* * *

_**In the week following…**_

"Naruto, you were amazing!"

"I never knew you were so strong, Naruto-kun!"

"What was it like fighting a giant turtle?"

"Are you really hurt?"

"Was it a really tough battle? They way you said it before wasn't that convincing… but everybody else said it looked bad!"

Out of all the people to come and visit the blonde on a day to day basis, the bedridden Genin never expected to content with the pushiness of Konohamaru and his two friends Moegi and Udon. All three of them flocked to his bed on visiting hours and bugged him for questions about his battle with the Tailed Beast, which spread faster then wild fire across the entire village in just a matter of days. As a result, a lot of the villagers' kids went to the hospital to try and get a glimpse of the blonde, but were forced to leave when they came in on mass. This left only small group visits from friends and family.

Though the Genin teams often came into see how their teachers were doing and such, Naruto also received warm congratulations from the residents at his place, quite a few random girls, fans and Konohamaru.

Ever since he ran into him several months ago, the boy would just happen to run into him while he was training on the fields provided, which was supernatural in retrospect…

The three academy students were bobbing up and down at the end of his bed while he sat cross-legged and his formed into a perfect hand seal, performing some chakra exercises with a stack of about thirty six books sitting on top of his head. At the same time, Naruto stared at the three gawking children, with Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai laughing in the background. Anko had nodded off a while ago, snoring away in her corner.

"Listen, Konohamaru," Naruto groaned, smiling at him and his little troop. "I know you guys really, badly, want me to tell you the story… _again_, but I'm just not feeling up to it today…"

"_**Awwww…"**_

"But bro…"

"Okay… here's what I'm offering you. If you can get me… a bowl of Miso ramen in the next… hour or so, then tomorrow as a reward, when I get out of here, I promise I will tell you the story in full detail in front of all your friends! Deal?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow at the three kids.

"Deal!" The grandson of the Third Hokage exclaimed, giving the blonde the thumbs up. Naruto smiled and nodded, before watching the three kids run out excitedly.

"That is cruel and unusual… even for you, Naruto," Kurenai exclaimed, watching the kids run out of the hospital wing. "They really look up to you…"

"I already spent time with them three hours yesterday, it gets kind of exhausting," Naruto replied, going back to his exercises. "My first priority is getting better, so that I can go out and help with the repairs of Konoha. I can't let my teammates and friends do all the work…"

"Just relax for a bit, Naruto," Asuma said, chewing on a toothpick. "Have some fun while you're here…"

"Get too stressed and you won't live long, at least that's what the nurse keeps telling you," Kurenai shrugged. "You don't have to keep training yourself while you're in the hospital…"

Naruto sighed and lowered his hands to his sides, taking the books off of his head and setting them down. "I guess I can take it easy for a bit. These are mostly medical journals, anyway… there's a lot of balance in them…" He then looked over to where Yagura was lying. The Forth Mizukage was starting to look better, but he was still comatose from his ordeal. "I was hoping he would be up by now so I'd have another jinchuriki to talk to."

"You can talk to us more," Asuma removed the toothpick and grinned at him. "Anything on your mind you're interested in sharing with you teachers? Or is there something you want to ask that's been bugging you?"

Naruto looked up and rubbed his chin in thought. After a minute or so of careful thinking, the blonde then smiled and looked back down. "I have one question. What's behind Kakashi-sensei's mask…?"

"Oh God, not this again…" Kakashi groaned, lowering his book. His face was still covered by the towel bequeathed to him by the medical personnel at his request, and the fact that it was loose did not shake the interest of everyone, who all turned their attention to him. "Listen, I'm not hiding anything out of the ordinary under my mask."

"Then why do you wear a mask?" Kurenai queried curiously.

"Because I… I uhh…I… uhh… don't… like… showing my face in public," Kakashi shrugged.

"Why?" Asuma asked.

"No matter what you say, I'm not showing you my face." The man crossed his arms to assert his position. However, when he looked up again, he saw Naruto, Asuma and Kurenai advancing on him, all three of them in walking condition and quite eager to jump him and remove the face cloth. The masked Jonin now felt quite insignificant and backed away from them as they approached his bed. "Uhh… actually… on second thought…"

"I'm glad to see you're up and about, Naruto," a voice sounded from the doorway, causing the three people out of their beds to look around. When they did, they saw the Third Hokage standing at the doorway, accompanied by Ryoko, Mia, the Mizukage, and Yamato, the man surprisingly out of his ANBU uniform and wearing the standard Jonin attire today. The Third smiled when he saw all attention in the room turn to him. "Good to know that you're able to leave the hospital early…"

"Huh…?" Naruto was about to respond, but then turned back to Kakashi, with Asuma and Kurenai doing the same. They were disappointed when they saw that the masked Nin had used a substitution technique and bailed out of the room at the last second; replacing himself with a pillow. Sighing, the three of them lumbered back to their beds and returned their focus to the village leaders at their door.

"What's up, old man?" Asuma asked, sitting himself down on the edge of his mattress. "I'd hate to think you're just here on business…"

"No, not really… this is both personal and business related," Hiruzen exclaimed, walking in with the others. Mei Terumi smiled when she approached Naruto's bed and sat herself down on the one next to his, Ryoko also joining, propping her sword at her side and leaning against it with her huge characteristic smile in play.

"We got a full report of what you did out there from the Chunin who were at the scene, brat," the swordswoman spoke up, grinning. "Nice work…"

"You were able to bring down Yagura when he was in full Tailed Beast mode. That is really impressive," Mei smiled, looking the boy over, quite surprised at seeing how young he actually was up close. "There hasn't been a shinobi in years that could go toe to toe with our former Kage, and a single Genin from the _Village Hidden in the Leaves_ actually manages to beat him."

"Glad to see I'm being appreciated for my work," Naruto grinned bashfully and placed his hands behind his head. "He was really strong. I didn't think I was going to make it about half way through the fight, but I managed to pull through in the end…"

"I'm also surprised to see that it was someone so young. That really speaks a lot about your potential," Mei exclaimed, reaching out and ruffling his hair. "The Hokage didn't mention you were such a cute little guy either…"

The blonde sweat-dropped. _"Cute…?"_

"Now, now Mei-chan, we discussed this before," Ryoko chuckled, sitting down on the bed next to Naruto and wrapping her arm around him. "We agreed that _**I**_ would be the one marrying him in the future…"

"When did _**we**_ agree on this?" Naruto shouted, looking a bit bewildered.

"Mizukage-sama, please," Hiruzen chuckled, strolling forward with his hands still behind his back. Mei smiled up at the old man as he approached Naruto, and came to stand in front of him and Ryoko, all of them now with their attention set on Konoha's distinguished leader. "I'm sorry this can't be done in a more formal manner, Naruto, but after the attempted invasion of Konohagakure by Sunagakure and Otogakure, we need to work fast in order to get this village and its shinobi back up to speed…"

"Since the _Village Hidden in the Sand_ is without a Kazekage for the time being, under the unanimous agreement of Suna's High Council, the Hidden Sand has offered Konohagakure its full surrender," Mei stated, folding her legs as she looked around at all those present in the room, who were listening intently to the report. "Just yesterday, an alliance was signed between Konohagakure, Kirigakure and Sunagakure. I am happy to say that the three villages have made peace…"

"That's great!" Naruto exclaimed. Pleasant looks were also worn by the Jonin present in the room.

"That's not all," Hiruzen smiled, clearing his throat. "In order to get our military strength back up to full speed, and consecutively stabilize the village's shaken infrastructure and economy, we'll need a lot of Chunin to fill in the gaps left by those who have unfortunately passed away in the wake of the surprise attack. Hence, the delegates and judges of the Chunin Exams have reached their decisions on the Genin who will be promoted."

"They agreed that Ino Yamanaka and Kiba Inuzuka should be promoted," Mei stated, nodding her head to the blonde haired boy. "In light of the outcomes of their rounds, they have shown to be capable field thinkers and strategists, ideal for team leaders of the Hidden Leaf…"

"Sakura Haruno and Hinata Hyuuga will also be promoted to Chunin," Hiruzen exclaimed. "They acted within the bounds of their abilities, fought economically, and defended the village admirably, not to mention the various missions they participated in as Team 7 has earned them a lot of credit…"

"Lee's stellar performance in combat earned him a lot of praise from the distinguished guests in the audience," Mei stated. "He really got the crowd going with his display, but his abilities also spoke well for themselves. We've also decided to promote him to Chunin, a position which will be really flexible for him."

"Lee has a lot of roles we need him to fill in here in the village. He'll help with teaching taijutsu to the students at the academy, and to the Genin who have lost their team captains. We'll also put him on a rotation basis between team member and team leader, at his sensei's consent, till everything straightens up around here," the Third said.

"Good for him. He deserves it," Asuma smiled. "Lee's presence at the academy should really lighten things up."

"We've also decided to promote you to Jonin, Naruto," Mei exclaimed, raising her hand towards the blonde. "Congratulations…"

Grinning from ear to ear, the newly promoted Genin shook hands with the young Mizukage. At that very moment of contact with one of the big five, he felt lighter then air, a swell of excitement bubbling up inside of him; something he hadn't felt in ages.

"It's an honor, ma'am…"

Ryoko chuckled and nudged him, pressing the boy up against her when she wrapped her arm around him again. She pressed his face up against one of her well endowed breasts as a result, which caused him to blush insanely red. "You fought a hard battle out there. Don't think your abilities and efforts wouldn't pay off some day, brat!"

"You displayed an exceptional level of responsibility and leadership in the heat of battle, and showed strengths and skills far above that of a Chunin level shinobi," the Hokage exclaimed, pulling out a folded up green vest from behind him and handing it to the blonde. Naruto took it and looked down at the standard Jonin attire in awe, smiling when he felt the vest under his touch. "You have also received a lot of credit for incapacitating the Three Tails' jinchuriki, whom will now be returned to Kirigakure."

"Once Yagura regains consciousness, I'll have him placed as my advisor in village matters, and also put him under protection for the coming year," Mei stated, nodding her head. "Times are changing, and protection of our village's civilians and treasures will become one of our top priorities."

"Can't have a village without its people," Naruto exclaimed, smiling up at the two village leaders. Mei nodded her head; glad he was able to pick up on the most basic of leadership idealism. Ryoko also grinned, while the Third Hokage gave the blonde a pat on the shoulder. Asuma and Kurenai were also watching from the sidelines, looking pleased and feeling proud for the young Genin.

He's certainly showed a lot in the past year to earn this respect from such highly distinguished individuals.

"There's also, going to be a small change in the system of leadership around Konohagakure," Sarutobi said, as Mei stood up and walked around to go check on Yagura. Ryoko also joined her so that they could share some more time to talk, while discussing issues in terms of both villages' shinobi. Hiruzen cleared his throat as he stood before Naruto, giving him an analytical look over as the blonde listened in. "In light of the invasion that has taken place, and the danger Orochimaru poses, I have come to the decision that I can no longer function as an adequate leader of this village…"

"W-What? But… old-man Third…" Naruto was about to protest, but Sarutobi raised his hand to silence any and all objections, particularly towards Kurenai and Asuma, who were also about to stand to the matter.

"I'm an old man, as you have so often and so eloquently put it Naruto; one who is reaching the end of his generation of shinobi," Hiruzen nodded, letting out a sigh. "I was hoping to be fully retired by now, and living in my estate with what is left of my family. But things haven't gone that way. But now, it's time I decided on my successor…"

"Well…" Naruto cleared his throat, looking down briefly in thought. Hesitant, he looked up at his role model and boss, who he had considered a grandfather throughout a majority of his life. "W-Who did you have in mind?"

"Jiraiya wouldn't accept the position, and I didn't expect him to, and Kakashi Hatake is still too green for the job. In spite of what other people might have to say about his skills and adequacy, I believe he is still too young, and taking my job isn't something he himself finds tasteful," Hiruzen stated, rubbing his chin as he spoke. "Frankly, Kakashi would be my second choice in this matter. However, Jiraiya has agreed to find me the number one candidate who is suitable for the position, which, incidentally, is also your first mission as a Jonin."

"What is it?"

"I want you to go with Jiraiya, and two other teammates of your choice, and find my other former student Tsunade," the Third Hokage said, placing his hands behind him again and looking down at the blonde seriously. "The shinobi and civilian council have agreed she would make the perfect Hokage in my stead. I myself, fully agree on that decision…"

"So, you expect me to leave…?"

"As soon as possible," Hiruzen smiled. "Tsunade is hard to catch, and you'll need all the time you need to find her."

"I'll leave tomorrow," Naruto exclaimed, rising to his feet, clenching his vest to his chest. "We'll bring her back. She and I have a history, so if all goes well, we'll have her sitting at your desk in the tower by the end of the week."

"Glad to hear," Hiruzen patted him on the shoulder again, before turning hell and heading over towards Asuma and Kurenai to check on them.

So far, this day wasn't going so bad after all…

* * *

_**Later that afternoon…**_

"To Naruto and his glorious ascent into manhood," Kiba exclaimed, raising a glass of sake to his best bud sitting across the table from him, who had a sullen look on his face. Although everyone else present at the table raised their glasses to him, the blonde wasn't too enthusiastic with replying to Kiba's rather ballsy toast.

"I'll… make a note to smash your face in the next time we spar… Kiba…" Naruto groaned, raising his glass rather reluctantly an exchanging pleasantries with the chiming of beverages.

The Rookie Nine had all gathered together for a celebratory night out, to commemorate all those who have been promoted. Though the main highlight of the evening was in fact Naruto being promoted to Jonin, he himself personally felt more inclined to celebrate his teammates' leap to Chunin, and instead held his glass up to Sakura and Hinata, above himself. The pink haired kunoichi and the Hyuuga sat on either side of him, overjoyed to finally see him out of the hospital and in his Jonin gear, still wearing his trench coat over the vest and his straw hat sitting beside him.

While Naruto, Sakura and Hinata sat on their end, Ino sat next to Sakura on her right, sharing a rather pleasant conversation with her in spite of being in a competitive streak to gain Naruto's affections. Shikamaru sat on the bleach blonde's other side yapping it up with Naruto, and Choji following right after, eating nonchalantly. Gai's Team had also joined in the celebration, with Tenten happily talking across to Naruto and Lee booming loudly about _youth_, even though he wasn't in a drunken stupor. Neji, aside from his teammates' boisterous moods, instead enjoyed his meal in his own enclosed world. Kiba sat at the other long end of the table alongside Shino and Sasuke, both of them, though joining in with the cheers and toasts, focusing more on what they were eating and drinking then talking. Needless to say, the more stoic members of the teams were caught up in their own time.

"To youth!" Lee shouted happily, holding up his iced tea. "Everyone will eventually move on, as the torch from the previous generation will be passed on to this one! BUT YOUTH SHALL ALWAYS REMAIN WITH YOU! LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST! LET EVERY DAY BRING MORE JOY AND GOOD HEALTH TO ALL YOUR LIVES!" The bushy browed Chunin made this proclamation while hugging his teammate Neji, who tried to shimmy away from the disturbingly energetic individual.

"Lee… keep your voice down, you're scaring the straights!" Neji snapped.

"It never gets old with your teammates, does it?" Naruto asked Tenten curiously, while engrossed in the affectionate embrace of Lee with a terrified Hyuuga, pushing the teen's face away from his. Though it was more like brotherly love, it was still hilarious to see Neji like this.

"No… this is pretty much routine for us," the shuriken user exclaimed, also turning to look. "It usually goes down like this between Lee and sensei, but in our team leader's absence, Neji often fills in for him. He obviously doesn't like it…"

"I know that Gai and Lee can create a beachside property all to themselves when they embrace in that God awful genjutsu that is so perfect you can skip stones across the water and get attacked by seagulls. But what happens between Neji and Lee?" Sakura asked. Tenten smirked and pointed over.

"Just watch and wait…"

At that moment, Lee rose to his feet and pointed upwards in a random direction, and all of a sudden the entire dining table and the people eating around it suddenly found themselves on top of a cliff, looking up at the stars with a crescent moon. Everyone, including Team 7 became confounded when they felt grass scratching their knees and not the smooth material supplied by the restaurant they were in.

"Neji! You must look far over the horizon, because that's where the future is! Our youth shall take us all the way over that horizon to something new and exciting! With every step, with every skip, with every bound, we shall propel ourselves further then that!" Lee shouted, tears in his eyes as he had his arm wrapped around Neji's head. Unknown to bushy brows, he was unintentionally strangling Neji under his grip. "LET OUR LIVES EXPLODE TOGETHER!"

At that instant, fireworks shot up out of nowhere and began exploding all over the sky in amazing, bright colors. Ino, Kiba and Naruto actually applauded at the quality of the genjutsu Lee managed to produce.

"Wow, that's pretty cool," Sasuke murmured, watching as a series of rockets shot up all at once and, with a loud clap of thunder, exploded into a magnificent flower in the skies above them.

"Look at the stars," Shino said, his glasses flashing as he and a couple of the other shinobi present checked out the constellations present. "Orion, Sagittarius, the Northern Star…"

"Even a constellation that is surprisingly rearranged to create Lee and Gai-sensei smiling over our heads," Sakura pointed. When they all turned, the group spotted the glowing teacher and student grinning characteristically down at them, thumbs up, and the brightest stars creating the gleam in their teeth.

"A-Amazing…"

"Other then the fact that the photo realistic quality is a little bit off, the elk and the eagle are positioned incorrectly and…," Shikamaru grumbled, running his finger over the night sky painted behind him. When he removed the finger, he found out it actually was paint and looked down at the dark blue stain on his fingertip, "…the background hasn't dried off yet, it's still conceptually impressive."

Just as everyone was in the middle of admiring the new scenery, it all went downhill when one of the fireworks rockets suddenly hit the invisible ceiling, bounced off and ripped through the air between the people around the table, before exploding inside the restraint. The blast of sparks scared the shit out of the other patrons and effectively dispelled the illusion.

"Oops…" Lee fell back down to the ground, taking Neji with him, who was still struggling to break loose. "Gai-sensei said for me not to display my youthfulness indoors…"

"HEY!" the manager of the restaurant came around, carrying a large clever with him and looking pissed. "Enough with your shenanigans you lot, you're scaring the other customers!"

"_**Sorry…"**_ Everyone mumbled and bowed apologetically.

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	45. The Search

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_The Search_

Back in the Village Hidden in the Sound, deep underground in one of the many hidden sanctums established by the leader of the small shinobi nation, Orochimaru sat fuming in his seat, overseeing an almost Tim Burton design of a laboratory. Amidst the smell of powerful chemical, surrounded by chimera components, and the walls lined with huge fetus tubes, the Snake Sannin felt right at home. However, home was supposed to make you feel comfortable and god about yourself. At that moment, the kidnapping teme felt nothing.

Kneeling in front of him in formation were his most loyal and powerful bodyguards, the Sound Four, their heads lowered and all of them remaining silent. In all honesty, the four cursed seal warriors should be feeling the need to question their master's orders once in a while. The pale freak practically led over half of his countrymen to their deaths and what was left of the half into hiding after the failed invasion of Konohagakure. The least the man could do was give his cronies the day off.

But instead they were kissing his boots once again, while glaring at the floor and sweating nervously in his presence.

Huffing and hissing in agony, the Sannin gripped his stump of an arm that was left and glared through the shadows.

"This is unacceptable… UNACCEPTABLE!" he roared, causing the Sound Four to wince at the volume of his voice. "Those scum from the Hidden Leaf… I swear… they will pay a _**thousand**_ _**times**_ over for what they've done to me…"

Biting his lower lip and drawing blood, the pale man stood up and hobbled over to one of the nearby tables, the Sound Four rising to their feet and hurriedly moving out of his way as he grabbed one of the test tube vials sitting in plain sight. Smashing it open, he drank it, and then some, before grabbing a serum of sorts and clutching it in his hand tightly, trembling and sweating with agony and anger.

"Dammit… GET OUT HERE YOROI!" Orochimaru shouted, the doorway soon being filled by the black eyed man as he strolled into view.

Looking passive as did all of the Sannin's other lackeys, the man stopped by the table and watched as his master spat up over the desk, while clinging to his severed limb.

"Are… the bodies… ready _yet_?" Orochimaru hissed, his hair hanging around his face and blocking all view of his infuriated expression.

"A stable body will be ready for you within the week, as a replacement for the damaged one you have now," the man replied calmly.

"Good…" Orochimaru whispered, looking up a bit, ceasing his panting. "What of the chimera… and the clones?"

"It may take a little longer to have a conscious one ready for your disposal," Yoroi replied, glancing over at the fluid filled tubes on the other side of the wall. "When that time comes, not only will you have the Sharingan, Rinnegan and Byakugan, but ten, much more powerful servants at your side…"

Orochimaru chuckled and glared over at Yoroi, his eyes showing veins, but a delighted grin etched on his face.

"Sounds… tasteful…" He licked his lips in excitement. "Can't wait…" The lackey smiled and bowed.

Just then, two more presences entered the room to join in the tense atmosphere. Walking in from the dark chasms, Kisarabi and Guren showed their faces to whatever light there was to be had. The bounty hunter, hat tipped over and shadowing her eyes, took a route down the isle of tubes, checking out each one, before stopping at the one in the middle. Placing her hands on her hips, she furrowed her brow and leaned in, taking a better look.

When Guren stopped beside Yoroi, Kisarabi huffed and spun around, turning towards Orochimaru who was smiling up at her.

"So… this is what you're planning," the woman smirked. "How disgusting of you…"

"Well, your donations have really… contributed a lot to my _personal _project, my dear," the Snake Sannin hissed. "I don't just plan to clone a spare body for myself… I want to create the ultimate shinobi, one who will obey my every order and request without question!" He raised his hand and clenched his fist, covering the birthing tube in front of his eyes in a metaphorical iron grip. "Imagine it… a culmination of all the shinobi with the most potential of this generation, designed to destroy _their_ era, its predecessors and the _next_… now _**that**_… is power…"

"Can't stomach it on your own anymore, Orochimaru?" Kisarabi chuckled, flicking the toothpick around between her lips. "Have you dropped your plans to become the ultimate immortal shinobi?"

"There are just some things…an ultimate shinobi such as myself, _cannot_ accomplish on his own," the Snake Sannin whispered, straightening up and smirking at the woman. "I have a new job for you."

"Wing it…" Kisarabi slipped her hands into her pockets, spitting her toothpick out of her mouth.

"Take Guren, and find the Sannin known as Tsunade. Once you find her… summon me," Orochimaru grinned. "I'll need her to help fix my injuries sustained in that farce of an invasion…"

"One of the Legendary Sannin… should be interesting," the hunter exclaimed, tipping her hat. "As it so happens, she's an old poker friend of mine. It should be easy to find her…"

Orochimaru grinned. "Then get to it…"

Nodding, Kisarabi left with Guren in tow, leaving the room to its other occupants. Chuckling as they went out, the Snake Sannin looked up towards the tube in front of him, where the body of his number one test subject floated. It was a young girl, around Naruto's age, suspended in clone feed, the fluid and bubbles whipping at her body and yellow hair. The Snake Sannin smirked as he looked up at it in fascination, noting the three whiskers on each cheek.

"This experiment should prove most rewarding…" he chuckled, the Sound Four behind him fidgeting nervously as they looked upon their master's project. "The _ultimate_ being… that sounds like the perfect body for me…"

The moment he said that, the young female bobbing about in the blue fluid suddenly opened her eyes and glared off to her right, eyes flashing a bright green…

* * *

_**Konoha…**_

_**Outside the West Gate…**_

"This ought to be a fun trip!" Naruto exclaimed, turning around towards the wind, which ruffled his trench coat about as it flowed by. His Jonin vest was worn proudly in sight with his white trench coat over it, much like how his father looked in his Hokage uniformed. However, the combination with his new straw hat on top of his head made him look more like a samurai warrior born then a ninja, but no one at this point was complaining. "Let's make it a good one, eh?"

"Hai!" Kin exclaimed, shrugging her backpack more comfortably onto her shoulders.

She and Tenten had been chosen specifically by Naruto to participate in this four-man mission, not only to be in their company which he enjoyed, but also for a fact he wanted to treat them to a first hand experience with a Legendary Sannin, and later to meet another one.

Of course, he did leave several details out about his older blonde counterpart whom they were going to be searching for, but he was sure they would see it sooner rather then later.

For her first mission as an approved Genin of Konohagakure, Kin wore dark and light green army camouflage slacks, with a forest green tube top, intentionally showing of a lot of cleavage to Naruto's often wandering eyes. She also had a fishnet shirt worn tightly underneath, a recommendation made by Anko to her wardrobe. She also wore a light brown scarf Naruto had given her, an item he himself wore on occasion in the known cooler areas of the Land of Fire, and also abroad.

The former Sound Genin was happy to be tagging along with him, as was the shuriken user with them. Tenten wore her usual outfit, but also had a large scroll hanging at her side, containing an assortment of interesting weapons she and Naruto had managed to scrounge. Not to mention her family's store allowed her free rein on their materials.

As far as anybody else was concerned, the three of them were as ready as they'll ever be.

"Hey Naruto, are you sure you're fine traveling without any extra baggage?" Tenten asked curiously, nudging at the usual camping supplies required for a standard mission hanging on her back. "I mean, it is a week long trip. Chances are we'd be moving out of the country…"

"Nah, carrying stuff in that fashion isn't something I'm too concerned about, not to mention we'll be visiting towns frequently looking for our target, as it has been _**her**_ pattern to move about. I learned a while back from Pervy Sage to always pack light, by sealing all of my supplies into scrolls and keeping them on me at all times. Plus, its just dead weight when you're in battle," the blonde replied, lifting his trench coat and flashing a lot of pockets and pouches stitched up underneath. "I'm as flexible in battle as I'll ever be. All I got are soldier pills, fruit bars and ramen I can just warm with my chakra. Nothing big…"

"Can't go a day without it, can you?" Tenten giggled.

"Nope! I would die without it!" Naruto laughed, throwing his hands up and placing them behind his head. "I think I should start working in some more vegetables though… just to keep my… _visitors_ happy. Kakashi keeps making window calls to remind me, Anko force feeds me, and Kurenai usually catches me outside on my errands and gently encourages changing my eating habits by buying me a vegetarian lunch. I can't say no!"

"I remember Gai used to do that all the time… he still does!" Tenten shook her head. "He said _a good meal in the morning makes for a strong body a day_. He always forced his way into my room and Neji's room and dragged us out at two o'clock in the morning. I think he misunderstood the apple phrase that started off this strange trend."

"You have, by far, the strangest sensei in this village," Kin giggled, earning a rather lopsided smile from Tenten in response.

"Everybody says that…"

"Are Gai and Lee… like… _related_… or something?"

"Kami… I hope not…" Tenten groaned.

Jiraiya eventually chose to show up at that moment, cutting into the trio's conversation and saving Tenten from trying to think about some disturbing questions. The white haired juggernaut of a pervert sung to himself as he strolled past the gates, waving to Kotetsu and Izumo sitting at their usual posts, before stopping in front of his team. He gave them a quick go over, before smirking at his blonde apprentice.

"Dates?"

"Girlfriends!" Kin piped up, earning a blush from Tenten, who didn't really expect the other girl to answer for her.

"Respect…" Jiraiya exclaimed, bumping fists with a grinning Naruto. "Oh, and congratulations for making it to Jonin…"

"Hey, it'll be fun," Naruto replied. "Now I can officially join Ibiki's poker parties, and subscribe to Anko's bikini shows… though… she drags me along to them anyway. That's mostly _after_ my training when I'm beat up and can't fight back. The last session she held was in her apartment, _while_ she was reading my novel series of _Stuck in the Middle _and wanted us to play out the couch scene…"

"Wait, you published that?" Kin asked curiously and in surprise. Naruto, Jiraiya and Tenten turned to look at her oddly. It took her only a split second to realize her blunder, and the girl shut her mouth, looking away with a red face. "I mean… I never heard of that series…"

"Right… anyway," Jiraiya smirked and pulled out a small scroll from his pouch. He tossed it to his student, who caught it on instinct. "New weapons. Think of them as a promotional present."

"Sweet…" Naruto pocketed it, making a note to try out his new toys when he got some free time. "Shall we get moving then?"

Jiraiya led the way, with the three youngsters in tow.

* * *

_**Meanwhile…**_

Back in Konohagakure, Zabuza was standing outside of the local dango bar, leaning against the wall and reading one of his old Icha Icha books from his collection. In his other hand he held a small shopping bag with a recently bought copy of Naruto's book _Stuck in the Middle _and Jiraiya's latest copy of _Icha Icha Hotsprings: Uncut_. With his 'birthday' shopping done, he felt a reread of his old material was best before he started focusing on the new stuff.

In spite of his characteristic, nonchalant delinquency, the eyebrow less Jonin was in fact on a scouting mission, one eye focused on the pages of his book, whereas the other, invisible eye was locked onto the two gentlemen sitting inside of the dango store drinking green tea over his right shoulder.

Spotting two fellow associates strolling down the road towards him, the masked Jonin shut his book and pocketed it, smiling in their direction.

"Out of the hospital already?" Zabuza asked, grinning under his gauze. "I never expected you to be up and about after having your balls knocked around, Asuma."

"And a _good morning_ to you to, Zabuza," the man in question chuckled, removing the unlit cigarette from between his lips. "Shopping?"

"Window browsing… anyway, Anko asked me to come by here and pick up some dango for her. She said that hospital food was starting to taste a bit bland," the swordsman replied.

"Of course it's supposed to be bland, it's standard health food," Kurenai sighed, shaking her head. "What am I going to do with her…?"

"I don't know, perhaps sit her down back at your place and talk about your differences and how you really feel towards each other, then hug in a gentle embrace at the end, whisper confessions into each others ears, make out a little, hit each other and get turned on and stuff…"

"You just read that off of the back of Naruto's book, didn't you?" Asuma raised an eyebrow, while grinning in amusement. Zabuza nodded.

"Yes sir, I did!" he replied, only to get slapped across the face by a fully recovered Kurenai. Shaking it off, the rattled, masked shinobi chuckled back in pain, and continued on with the conversation. "You know, Anko did get smacked about by my former associate a whole lot worse then you guys…"

"She wanted to get that asshole back from groping her," Kurenai stated, folding her arms. "Frankly, I don't blame her."

"If he wasn't immortal, she probably killed the slugger more then ten times; the most lives I've ever seen beaten out of the guy," Zabuza replied, glancing back into the dango store to see the black cloaked figures sitting in the shadows, trying not to draw attention to themselves. Of course, it wasn't too hard to miss two dudes walking around draped in clothes with a dead give away of a slogan patterned all over them. The designer judges from project runway would be having a fit. "_Hikita_ got what was coming to him."

There was a twitch from the taller of the two individuals inside the store, a reaction that Asuma and Kurenai managed to pick up.

"I agree," Asuma smirked, furrowing his brow as he too, glanced into the store. "A woman _that_ pissed would definitely tear a man limb from limb for that stunt…"

"I would have done the same thing," Kurenai replied, smirking alongside her boyfriend.

While the three of them stared, they were suddenly approached by Sasuke and Shino, the two of them informed by Kiba to go see Zabuza about some training in Kakashi's absence, while the Inuzuka went back to his clan's estate to get some training from his mother. The Uchiha and the Aburame stopped beside the three Jonin, who turned to them in response.

"You rang?" Shino asked.

"Oh yes, of course," Zabuza exclaimed, smirking. "You got my message."

"Loud and clear," Sasuke stated, glancing into the store, seeing two steaming cups of tea and a plate of dango sitting in the middle. He furrowed his brow and glanced up at their substitute teacher. "You were planning on sitting and chatting with us? I'm not exactly a fan of dango…"

"You're not huh? Then I guess I just wasted twenty ryo," Zabuza replied, glancing back over at Asuma and Kurenai. The two fresh out of hospital shinobi nodded back and vanished into leaf shunshins. The actions confused Sasuke and Shino, who looked up at the swordsman in front of them curiously.

Unbeknownst to the small group of Konoha ninja standing outside of the dango store, a third party was sitting not to far from them in the restaurant across. Finishing up a bowl of radish soup, the black cloaked figure paid for the meal and stood up, also disappearing in a black mist shunshin, which had the store clerk jump in surprise.

* * *

_**Some ways down the road from Konoha…**_

Jiraiya hummed to himself as he strolled along casually, listening to Naruto, Kin and Tenten animatedly talking behind him. The three of them were giggling, chatting, reflecting on the exams and the screw ups. But all of that changed when they instead decided to harass the perverted hermit, who at first dreaded they would start on a more personal subject. However, it turned out to be half…

"Hey, Ero-Sennin," Naruto nudged the old man, coming to walk beside him, with Kin and Tenten trotting beside him. "What was it really like, being a student under the Hokage?"

"Oh?"

"Yeah, what was it like?" Tenten asked curiously.

"Well…" Jiraiya rubbed the back of his head, looking ahead of him in thought. "The old man didn't seem like much back when I was Genin… more like your _basic_ academy teacher. Tsk, boy was I wrong." The white haired man shrugged his shoulders, at the same time he folded his arms while maintaining his walking pace. "He was truly at his prime back in those days; incredibly powerful, entitled the _**God of Shinobi**_ with his skill and strength. Even today, he might still be the best ninja Konoha has to offer, but thanks to his age… it's quite hard to say. I gave him such a hard time when I was younger, whereas Orochimaru and Tsunade behaved like the good little puppies they were. Aside from team missions and training, I didn't really hang around much after I learned the summoning technique, which prompted me to go on my life changing journey…"

"Yeah, your quest for the '_chosen_ _one'_," Naruto chuckled, giving the statement metaphorical quotation marks with a quick gesture. "Isn't that kind of a cliché, where some old man is seen traveling the world looking for that treasured, oh so special, disciple?"

This comment earned a raised eyebrow from the white haired man.

"Don't cheapen the value of the prophecy. It's actually quite a compelling tale. I'll tell you more about it one of these days," the Sannin replied, looking back up to see them coming to a crossroads. Looking left and right, the four man cell continued moving forward, heading North West. "You kids and your stories; sometimes I just can't keep up with your generation."

"What was Tsunade and Orochimaru like?" Tenten asked, lacing her hands together and tilting her head up at the Sage. "I bet your team was awesome back when you were Genin."

"Actually, we were about the same as all those other fried chickens from the rack you guys came from," Jiraiya said, looking down at the three youngsters with an observing stare. He got rather odd looks back from them. "Believe it or not, I was like Naruto right after he graduated, Tsunade was a hot-blooded, banshee of a girl, but still a gorgeous flower, and Orochimaru was a quiet brat that made smart aleck comments with no hint of emotion whatsoever. He was about as dry as a raisin…"

"Kind of like… Naruto… Sakura… and… I think I can glue your other teammate to Sasuke," Tenten thought.

"It makes sense once you piece them together," Kin said, smiling over at her blonde friend and nudging him. "You do sort of act like your sensei…"

"Well… I don't conduct…'research' as passionately as he does," Naruto grinned at Kin, but then looked up at Jiraiya with a harsher expression. "You corrupted my childhood you lecherous old git…"

"You should be grateful I taught you my transparency jutsu," Jiraiya huffed back, sticking his nose in the air. "Honestly, this era of Genin have no respect whatsoever."

"All respect I had for your ways around women died when you told me that story about how you were in that threesome," Naruto replied, causing Tenten and Kin to suddenly glare up at the Sannin. "But all you really did was use a shadow clone for extra leverage!"

"Hey! My playbook moves were off the charts!" Jiraiya said, stopping and poking the blonde in the chest. "I bet you ten thousand ryo you will never be able to pull off a three way!"

"Oh really?"

"Yeah?"

"Social experiment!" Naruto cleared his throat and turned to his two kunoichi teammates, who were busily glaring up at the old pervert. "Hey, you girls want to share a bed with me tonight?"

"Hell yeah," Kin exclaimed, snapping out of her glaring phase and leaping onto the blonde, hugging him happily, nuzzling her face into the groove between his head and chest. Tenten followed suit, both girls falling under Naruto's wings, and kissing him on the cheek they were given.

The blonde Jonin grinned and looked up at the white haired Sannin, who was now glaring down at his apprentice in envy at his sudden display.

"Jealous?"

"Not important," Jiraiya continued walking, with Naruto following behind with his girlfriends hugging his arms. "By the time you reach my age, the playing field would have changed."

"Whatever you say, Ero-Sennin," Naruto chuckled.

After walking for about five minutes in silence, and Tenten and Kin were enjoying the embrace with their favorite boy-candy, a thought crossed the jinchuriki's mind, causing him to look up at his still, slightly disgruntled master.

"By the way, I never got to ask you this," the blonde started, the old man glancing down at him. "What was my father's team like? You never mentioned your other two students before."

"Hmm?" Jiraiya's eyes and thoughts snapped open at the question, and he looked ahead of him, trying to recall his days as a Jonin sensei. In truth, he had taken on many apprentices in his quest to find the prophesized child, which made it a tad bit difficult to recall some of his other, promising students. Of course, the memories of his official team from Konohagakure came back to him, and he smiled as recollection floated into view.

"Well, your father Minato was certainly the shiniest penny in that purse," the hermit chuckled, scratching his head. "But boy, did the other two kids give me something to think about. Out of all the Jonin leaders at the time, I perhaps raised the most interesting Genin team in the village."

"A famous ninja certainly trains a high potential team," Kin commented.

"That's not usually the case," Jiraiya stated, looking down at the girl. "You see, my team was a mixed group, consisting of one promising candidate, an average student, and a low scoring one. However, in spite of our pyramid like team dynamics, they managed to function on a pretty reasonable level. By the time all of them were Jonin, they became three of Konoha's best. Minato of course went on to become Konoha's Fourth Hokage."

"Really?" Tenten blinked in astonishment and looked at Naruto. "You never told me your dad was Hokage!"

"I guess it sort of slipped my mind," Naruto replied back, feeling a bit awkward. "It's really just old news and I don't like bragging about it… since it normally gets you into trouble."

"What about the other two?" Kin asked, giving Jiraiya an interested stare.

"Well, I know one of them is still alive and well, and is currently wandering about the world like I am. Jin Akiramu was his name. His parents were from the Akimichi Clan and the Aburame Clan, quite an interesting combo. As a result he had a rather… fifty-fifty personality. At one point he would be quiet, stoic and extremely patient, but then out of the blue, he would be flamboyant at the strangest of times. He had this incredible obsession to surpass Minato, and often followed him about in order to learn the art of '_being cool as ice'_, his exact words, not mine" Jiraiya chuckled rubbing the back of his head. "He was most certainly a rope jumper. Jin was not only loyal and sensible, but he would often join me, Minato and Yukari on our many _research_ ventures to the hot springs…"

"Researching? Really?" Naruto shook his head up at the old coot. "You really have a bad way with your students…"

"Don't try to say you've never done it…" Jiraiya snapped back.

"Who's Yukari?" Kin asked, ignoring the fact that the Sannin was a pervert in both lives.

"Oh, she was my other student. Like Minato, Yukari had superb potential, but was really a quiet, average student when I first met her, and was for most of our time together as a team. She actually had a crush on Minato for a while, because he was one of the only people in the village who treated her with real kindness and compassion. Minato, Jin, Kushina and Yukari were actually the best of friends," Jiraiya stated, smiling slightly at the memories. "The adventures my team shared… it was something to remember. Like Minato, she became one of the most formidable ninja Konoha ever produced…"

"Where is she now?" Tenten asked.

"I don't know. After the _Uchiha Massacre_, she just up and vanished. Her body was never found among the dead clan members, but…"

"Wait! Hang on a second… back up," Naruto rewound a bit, giving his master a rather bewildered look. "Was Yukari an Uchiha?"

"Well… yeah," Jiraiya replied, giving the boy a serious look. "Yukari Uchiha… her clansmen actually dubbed her the _**Forgotten Uchiha**_ and the villagers called her the_** Black Kunoichi.**_ She… possessed quite an unusual ability, one that scared even her fellow Uchiha." The man shook his head at the memory flashes. "Though she rarely used her abilities because people were so scared of them, she became the second most powerful ninja in Konoha when Minato became Hokage, with him being the first."

"So… are you saying she is still alive?" Kin asked.

"Probably. I remember her well. She had this strange habit of changing her hairstyle everyday, and she had black Sharingan pupils with red tomoes instead of the regular Sharingan color patterns …"

"Wait… what did you say?" Naruto stopped dead in his tracks, now beginning to look rather terrified. Jiraiya stopped and turned to him, looking quite startled at the shocked expression on his apprentice's face.

"What… about her reverse colored Sharingan…?"

Naruto trembled on the spot, looking down at the ground in disbelief. Kin and Tenten looked at him with concern, and changed their embrace positions to allow him to sit himself down on the ground as he became overwhelmed with shock. Caressing him, the girls made sure he was comfortable before they questioned him.

"W-What's wrong, Naruto?" Tenten asked.

"I… I know those Sharingan," Naruto mumbled, looking up at his master. "I think I've met your former student, Ero-Sennin…"

* * *

_**Back in Konohagakure…**_

Walking down the road trailing alongside one of the many channels that cut through Konohagakure, the two cloaked figures from the dango store walked on at a rather upbeat pace. Knowing that they had been subtly found out by some of the village's finest, they wanted to try and avoid starting a war with the Hidden Leaf. Even though they were certain they wouldn't be able to win against the entirety of Konoha's shinobi, based on skill and strength alone meant that they could take down a good fifty percent of the total forces. However, it was still a rather unfavorable outcome for the both of them.

Almost sure that they had evaded their pursuers, the two Akatsuki members suddenly stopped in the middle of the road when they found their route blocked. Having managed to get ahead of the rogue ninja, Asuma and Kurenai now stood in their way, glaring the intruders down. The shady looking shinobi said nothing as they glared over their high collars and through the paper strips of their straw hats hiding their faces at their new obstacles.

Furrowing his brow, Asuma gave the pair a good look over for the first time, before speaking. "Going somewhere fellas?"

"A Halloween party perhaps," Kurenai mused seriously.

Asuma chuckled at the joke, while continuing to stare at the would-be ones in front of him. "No one can go traipsing around our village dressed like that without anybody noticing. What are you two after?"

"Asuma… Kurenai… it's been a long time," the shorter of the two Akatsuki spoke up, his voice devoid of emotion.

It was at that statement that the pair of Konoha shinobi caught onto a rather interesting fact about their opponents. "The fact that you know our names means that you're a shinobi formerly of this village."

The man that spoke lifted his straw hat, flashing his Sharingan at the two unsuspecting Jonin, who blinked in shock when they realized there was only one other person other then Sasuke and Kakashi still alive to possess those eyes. Muttering the name in question, they watched as the dark haired man pull off the straw hat and tossed it onto the wind, the pair of shinobi getting a full view of the pale, tired looking face of one, Itachi Uchiha.

Asuma smirked when he distinctly recognized the man, and the rather stoic expression he was giving them. "It's been a while, Itachi Uchiha. I never thought I'd be seeing your pasty face around here again… you've sure got some nerve…"

The taller man standing beside the Uchiha also removed his straw hat, smirking at their new, extra company. "Friends of yours, Itachi? Perhaps it's time I become acquainted with them as well," the blue skinned man exclaimed, his regular tone of voice close to sounding like a sinister snarl through and through. "Hello there, the name is Kisame Hoshigaki!"

"We know who you are, Kisame," Kurenai retorted, giving the tall man the same look of distain Asuma was giving Itachi. "Former leader and member of the _Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist_, wanted in every country on the mainland and responsible for the murder of a feudal Lord; an S-Rank Criminal listed prominently in the bingo book."

"You know, Zabuza and Ryoko spoke very highly of you," Asuma informed. "However, I must say most of their reviews on you as a person were quite harsh, despite their begrudging respect for your abilities…"

"Zabuza and Ryoko huh? My… it's been so long…" the shark of a man exclaimed, his razor teeth bared menacingly in his snide grin. "I heard that the two of them have become lapdogs of your village. How are they coping with the new leashes around their necks?"

"Quite well, actually," Kurenai smirked. "But you don't need to worry about them…"

"We're going to wipe the floor with you two right now!" Asuma shot up as well, flicking his cigarette around in his mouth.

Itachi furrowed his brow at the growing tension between the two groups. "You do not want to interfere with us. Please, I would prefer not to kill you…"

"That's pretty funny coming from a man who killed off his entire clan," Asuma snapped back.

"Boy, they sure do hate you in this village Itachi… almost as much as they do in mine," Kisame laughed, reaching up and grabbing the huge sword on his back. The gauzed weapon slammed into the ground in front of him, splitting the earth on impact. "Why don't we kill these annoying roaches? They're starting to get on my nerves…"

"Well, it appears we won't be going anywhere without a fight," Itachi sighed, glancing round at his partner. "Try not to overdo it. Your moves tend to stand out…"

Kisame chuckled. "They're as good as dead…"

Just as the blue skinned shinobi was about to make his move in their stand off, another shadow suddenly cast themselves on the group, a footstep echoing loud enough for their sharp ears to catch. Asuma and Kurenai saw the person first, before Itachi and Kisame turned around as well to see who it was that had jumped in. When they did, they saw a person draped in a black robe and a hood shadowing the figure's identity standing behind them, glaring at them.

Raising an eyebrow, Itachi turned to the person fully, so did Kisame, who just scoffed at the bystander.

"What is this?" the swordsman asked snidely.

The person stepped forward, showing the Akatsuki members that they had no intention of backing down. This had Kisame swing his sword around and point it towards the figure, a grin crossing his lips.

"You want some of this, do you?"

"It's been a long time, Itachi-kun," the voice of a woman spoke up, the very tone of it making the former ANBU's eyes widen in shock. He turned fully towards the person, with Asuma and Kurenai just hanging back, watching the new encounter unfold right before them.

"Impossible…" the black haired teen spoke, his voice now holding a hint of shock and fear. "I thought you were dead…"

"Have you forgotten who you're talking to?" the figure reached up from under her cloak and lifted her hood up, flashing a pair of black Sharingan at the Uchiha, the red tomoes spinning as her eyes widened in analysis. "Besides, is that any way to greet your former sensei?"

At that moment, she pulled her hood over her head, brown bangs of hair at the sides of her face waving freely in the wind, and her pale skin showing itself to the world. Asuma and Kurenai nearly had a stroke when they recognized the figure that revealed itself from under the shadows, which was almost as big a shock as Itachi was thrown into. The teen Uchiha's expression showed his stunned response, as he was literally dripping a stream of sweat. Kisame also blinked in surprise, recognizing the kunoichi that was featured in the bingo book next to the Forth Hokage's photo, and whom Itachi spoke of numerous times before.

The woman glared at the boy, her face just as rock stoic as Itachi's had been moments before.

"Y-Yukari Uchiha…" Itachi muttered.

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

_**

* * *

**_

Author's Note:

If you wanna check out a picture of Yukari... look up Team Jiraiya where Minato was a kid, you can find Jiraiya and his three students lined up. The girl on the team is Yukari and Jin is the other one. I'll evaluate more as the story goes...


	46. The Black Kunoichi

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_The Black Kunoichi_

"T-That's…" Kurenai backed up a bit, blinking in disbelief.

Asuma was also astounded, his cigarette falling out of his mouth. "Yukari Uchiha…"

The woman standing before them with the five o'clock shadow was most certainly the woman they were thinking of. The familiar hair cut with the short, forward clipped ponytail, Sharingan eyes and, overall, the killer expression she wore. Yukari Uchiha, the long forgotten Uchiha and reputedly, one of the most powerful ninja Konohagakure had ever produced, stood before them with her silhouette to the sunlight.

Her presence definitely struck a chord with the Konoha shinobi and the two Akatsuki members present. However, Kisame didn't give the woman the privilege to see him sweat. He instead smirked as he looked at her.

"So… this is your sensei I've heard so much about, aye Itachi?" the swordsman spoke, his teeth flashing as he grinned cockily. "The famous _**Black Kunoichi**_. You never really mentioned her much outside of name and experience. To be frank, I was expecting someone more appealing…"

The blue skinned man was about to strode forward to confront her, only to have Itachi grab his arm and force him back. The former Mist swordsman looked down to see Itachi, and was rather confounded to see the look of fear on his partner's face. Wide eyed and sweating a river, the Uchiha trembled on the spot as he held his comrade back.

"Don't…" Itachi shook his head. "Don't…"

Kisame raised an eyebrow. As a former ANBU and a man hardened by war, Itachi was never the one to freely show emotion or fear. Heck, in all the months the swordsman had known Itachi, there was rarely anything or anyone the boy was truly afraid of, or reacted in any distinct way towards. Heck, even faced down by an army of shinobi, the Uchiha didn't even blink. However, at the very sight of the kunoichi that just happened to drop in out of nowhere, the young Akatsuki member could do no more then choke and stare in terror.

This was saying something…

"Hey, take it easy. You look like you've just seen a ghost," Kisame muttered, glaring down at the teen while yanking his sleeve out of Itachi's grip. "It's two on one here; we can take her…"

"Don't… fight her," Itachi hissed, furrowing his brow and glaring up at his companion. "If you decide to cross blades with that woman, you'll be dead before you even reach her."

Kurenai and Asuma, watching in the background, glanced at each other. Though they were both stunned to see the Forth Hokage's teammate standing before them, they still had a lot to worry about. Itachi and Kisame were still here, so they couldn't just relax.

"What happened to her? I thought she was dead and buried a long time ago?" Kurenai whispered, looking the woman over. "She was barely seen around Konoha after the Kyuubi attack thirteen years ago, and just dropped off the grid after the Uchiha Massacre…"

"Well… apparently Lady Yukari is still alive and well," Asuma replied, stepping a bit closer to his teammate. "She must have been away from Konoha at the time Itachi Uchiha butchered his entire clan. After that, everyone in the village went in search for Yukari, the Third Hokage making it an outstanding S-Ranked order to bring her in. But after months of searching there was no trace of her to be found by the regular forces or the ANBU. Not even Lord Jiraiya or Jin could locate her…"

The pair watched as Kisame and Itachi faced the figure down, who was passively drinking in her opposition, giving herself time to analyze her enemies. It was while the former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist was discussing jumping their opponent now, and save the two of them the trouble of the prolonged suspenseful stand off, the Jonin in the background kept on talking, at the same time, getting a better feel for the situation at hand.

"What do we do now?" Kurenai asked. "Their backs are turned… we can attack them…"

"I don't think that _that_ is such a good idea," Asuma whispered. "After all, we couldn't even take down Ryoko, and there were four of us. What chances do we have against the leader of the _Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist_ and the Uchiha prodigy…?"

"Well, what about reinforcements? We should probably go get back up…"

"I think that's a void decision in its own right. In all honesty, I'm more interested in watching how all of this will go down." The pair saw Itachi step away from Kisame as he took to the plate, assuming a more confrontational stance against the woman. "If Yukari has reappeared for any reason, then it is to confront the man responsible for killing the entire Uchiha Clan. She must have known he would be here today, so what other reason would there be for her to show her face again?"

"So… should _we_ back her up?" Kurenai queried.

"The best thing to do at this point is to stand back and not get caught in the crossfire." The bearded Jonin said this while shuffling on the spot nervously. "You're looking at a woman who killed an entire battalion of Iwagakure Shinobi during the Third Great Shinobi War just by batting an eyelash… literally. I also heard that she was chosen to become the next Hokage after the Fourth's unfortunate death during the Kyuubi's attack on Konohagakure… but she declined…"

"Why do they call her the _**Black Kunoichi**_ anyway?"

"Don't know… maybe we'll find out…"

Kisame grinned and spun his sword effortlessly in his grip, licking his lips excitedly. "Fine! If you won't bother to fight your former teacher Itachi, then I will! You can handle the small fry!" The man roared as he sprinted headlong towards the woman, Asuma and Kurenai jumping when the man exploded into action. Itachi, however, instead of doing as suggested stepped forward and tried to stop his partner, but he was too far ahead to actually really do anything then warn him.

"KISAME! STOP!"

The man didn't get the message. A second later, he was swinging his Samehada blade straight down at the dark haired woman, who just looked at the incoming strike with disinterest. Just as the gauzed blade was inches from her face, her right hand shot up and she caught it with her bare open palm. The blow caused a shockwave to ring out and the ground at their feet to crack, as the swordsman drove home his attack. However, even with all the power he put behind his swing, the sword didn't even budge as soon as it was caught, and the blue skinned shinobi was stopped dead in his tracks.

Blinking, the former swordsman of the Mist blinked in astonishment that the woman was actually bold enough to catch the sword with her hand. Just as he was about to cut straight through her, Kisame suddenly found he was unable to, when his sword wouldn't shift an inch as it pressed itself against the Uchiha's hand. Gritting his teeth, he tried to pull it free of her grip to reengage her with a new assault, but was unable to. His trembling body indicated how much strength he was putting behind trying to yank his weapon free, but in spite of his best efforts, I was all for naught.

As he struggled, Yukari smirked as tightened her grip.

"Useless…"

A second after she said that, a blue electric current suddenly ran down the length of the blade, before the sword unexpectedly exploded. A ripple of a shock wave blasted Kisame back when his sword was suddenly punctured and blown to pieces by an unknown, invisible force. Staggering back, the man's eyes widened when his sword cried out in agony as a hole was blown into it where it was held by the woman. Yukari smirked at her opponent, before frowning, and vanishing in a blur of movement.

Kisame had but a tenth of a second to react before blood and spit came flying out of his mouth and he was lifted off of his feet by an invisible blow right in his mid-section. The force of the attack sent him flying, cart wheeling through the air right through the middle of the group of Jonin, before he crashed hard across the dirt path, skipping several times before rolling to a stop. That singular blow shocked Kurenai, Asuma and Itachi, who looked back at the swordsman as he attempted to get back to his feet, blood pouring profusely from his mouth.

"What… the… fuck!" Kisame groaned as he sat up, glaring across the fifty meter stretch he flew towards the Uchiha responsible for his take off. _"My bones were almost turned into granite! What the hell was that attack?"_ He then looked down at his sword Samehada, twitching and groaning in his grip. Looking down the blade, he saw the massive hole punched right in the middle of it where the weapon was bleeding, the scales making up its form scattered all around the area, yet it was still able to maintain most of its form. The weapon cried as it traded chakras with its owner in order to heal itself. _"Samehada… actually took damage! No one has been able to damage my sword before…"_

Kisame glared up towards Yukari with his harshest stare. "What's more is that even on contact I couldn't determine her chakra level or nature. Just who is that woman?"

As Kisame started getting back to his feet, Asuma and Kurenai turned back around to face the Akatsuki's opponent, with Itachi also rounding on his sensei with a more serious glare. Teeth gritted, he clenched his fists as he faced her down.

Yukari Uchiha raised an eyebrow as she watched her first target get back up after receiving a close range Juken hit, before looking down at her right hand she managed to catch Samehada with. She saw she had scales lodged into her palm, with a few light scratches. The woman also felt a slight change in her chakra level, and began weighing it on a set of scales.

"_That Samehada weapon Hikita-kun was talking about… it has the ability to effectively drain people's chakra almost instantaneously. Not only that, it can also share it with its user, effectively making both the weapon and the wielder a formidable fighting pair."_ Clenching her hand, she looked back up, taking her time with her analysis. _"I was able to expand my chakra as soon as it entered the blade and shattered it, but it's now exchanging energy with its wielder to repair the damage it sustained. What a hungry weapon; to be able to snag a fifth of my chakra in one go…"_

"_Yukari is able to control the input and output of her chakra so well; even if it is separate from her body she can manipulate and shape it, just as she did to Kisame's sword. She expanded her chakra at a high velocity and destroyed it from the inside out," _Asuma thought. _"That's insane, Sannin chakra control…"_

"So… Itachi-kun…" Yukari spoke, earning a blink from the young adult standing in front of her with the flames in his eyes. "Since it's been so long since you and I last met, how about we spar just to see how much you've grown over the years…"

The Uchiha furrowed his brow as he glared at her, trying to figure out her angle and what she had planned. However, when she didn't do anything or say anything for a solid minute, it allowed him time to think up a strategy to combat his teacher.

"_Fighting against her one on one is suicide, even for my level of skill. She was able to take down Kisame in one hit and didn't even break a sweat from the effort,"_ the Uchiha thought, being sure to watch her mid-section, as he knew looking into her eyes would be costly, even for him. _"Genjutsu doesn't work on her… and I certainly don't want to go at her in close range. Her speed and combat prowess in taijutsu is a match for even the Fourth Hokage's. I'll have to hit her hard and fast with medium and long range techniques…"_

"Do you think medium range techniques will work on me?" Yukari asked, smiling a bit. "You certainly don't know me at all…"

"What?" Itachi blinked, astounded. _"How did she…"_

"…know what I was thinking? She can't possibly read my mind, can she?" Yukari spoke in place of Itachi's thoughts, a smile still imprinted on her lips. Asuma and Kurenai were also caught off guard, hearing words echo out from the kunoichi, instead of from Itachi. "You're just too easy to read, Itachi-kun. You get nervous, you shake up, drop your guard, and you can't even secure your own thoughts. That's quite careless when you're dealing with me."

"What was that just now?" Kurenai asked no one in particular.

"She was able to read Itachi's mind from that distance?" Asuma furrowed his brow as he looked the woman over. _"That word play wasn't a Yamanaka technique; it was more similar to Kakashi's ability to be able to copy another person's jutsu as well as their words. It's an intimidation-genjutsu combination tactic that only works when the person is already caught up in an illusion. But I don't think we're in one at the moment…"_ He took a second to stop his chakra flow, "Kai!" _"Nothing… this is no genjutsu. What is she doing…?"_

Calming himself down, Itachi stepped back into a stance, hands still hidden in his sleeves as he slipped shuriken in between his fingers. At that moment, Kisame suddenly rejoined him, appearing out of thin air right next to him.

"Well… hit her with something?" the swordsman hissed, his sword held limply in his hand as he continued to heal from his wounds. "You're in this close. Do it…"

"Idiot. It's not that simple…" Itachi whispered back. "Taking this woman on will lead to an unfavorable outcome. She can kill us both if she was serious; a definite capability you just experienced first hand as a demonstration. The best we can do at this point is fall back and rethink our strategy. Remember our mission…"

"Naruto is no longer in this village and Danzo was killed a while back," Yukari spoke up, surprising the two Akatsuki and the two Jonin standing behind them. "Warning the old man to stay away from Sasuke by appearing here was a stupid move on your part; coming to Konohagakure without even double checking to see if you were being tailed. Furthermore, Naruto is traveling with the Legendary Sannin Jiraiya. Go after him, and I can accurately state without uncertainty that both of you will regret going toe to toe with him. Master and I are in the same league…"

"How…" Kisame blinked.

"I told you," Itachi whispered back, frowning deeply. "It's _never_ simple, not with her…"

"But I thought you killed all the Uchiha when you went on that spree around your entire neighborhood all those years ago? Why is _this one_ still wandering about?" the swordsman snapped. "Having her around is going to ruin our plans. Let's just kill her already…"

Yukari smirked. "I'll give you another free shot… take it…"

"Fine!" Kisame slammed his sword into the ground, at the same time Itachi's hand shot out from under his sleeve, shuriken drawn. In that instantaneous movement, Asuma and Kurenai were unable to see the hand seals the Uchiha flashed through before pillars of water shot out of the channel beside them and, forming drill bullets, shot straight towards Yukari, who glanced around at the incoming attacks. At the same time, Itachi threw the cluster of ninja stars he held in his hands, the weapons slicing through the air straight towards her while she was distracted.

Just as both attacks were upon her, suddenly, a spark of fire started from her lips and suddenly expanded outwards in a wall of fire. The twisting flames engulfed her and shielded her as the _Water Release: Water Fang Bullet_ drills struck her from her left, and the shuriken flew into her fire from in front, melting in the sheer heat created by the spiraling vortex.

Itachi blinked in shock and disbelief at the fire shield that swiftly surrounded the woman, just as Kisame finished up his hand seals.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" Kisame roared.

The channel once again contributed to an attack, another pillar of water rocketing up and out of the river and whipping through the air, taking shape and forming into a Chinese Firebolt dragon made of water. With a roar, the jutsu dove straight down at the small vortex of fire that Yukari was standing in and effectively blinded by her own shield. However, just as Asuma, Kurenai and the Akatsuki members watched the technique was about to hit her, a massive wave from the channel down river suddenly charged the attack down from its blind spot and slammed into it, effectively knocking it out of the air when the wall of water _(Water Style: Water Colliding Wave) _passed right by the group. The clash sprayed the channel's contents everywhere, and showered down upon the astonished attackers as their techniques were effectively wiped out one after the other.

Asuma and Kurenai shielded themselves from the shockwaves and sprays of water, when the techniques collided in the monstrous battle opening up before them.

"Unbelievable!" Asuma shouted, looking over towards Yukari, to see the fire shield dissipate, revealing an unscathed kunoichi standing in its place.

"Itachi may be fast, and works well in conjunction with his partner, but Yukari was still the faster," Kurenai stated, eyes widened. "I didn't see any hand signs or anything. How fast is she?"

"Impossible!" Kisame shouted as the rain of water stopped, gritting his teeth as he glared at the woman in front of him. "She was able to use two jutsu at the same time and without fault! Her hand seal speed and control is insane! How was she able to do that?"

"There were no hand seals," Itachi growled, the swordsman looking over at him with a stunned expression.

"What?"

"Yukari Uchiha was held in high regard by the Fourth Hokage for a reason. Next to the Nine-Tails, she was his second trump card. When she became a Jonin a part of Konoha's _Elite Four_, she earned great recognition for her ability to use jutsu without hand seals," Itachi stated, glaring the woman down as she stared back, unfazed. Her vacant expression was starting to unnerve them. "She has perfected her abilities as a shinobi to one-hundred and twenty percent, above that of a ninja in my category. Not only can she perform techniques without using hand seals, she can also copy another person's attacks flawlessly. She requires no movement to execute them whatsoever, which makes attacking her with conventional ninjutsu impossible…"

"So she can just stand there while we dance around her aimlessly and throw attacks at us without budging an inch?" Kisame questioned, before narrowing his eyes on the cloaked shinobi again. "That's a troublesome opponent…"

"That's not the only troubling aspect about me," Yukari exclaimed, her smile falling. "Itachi-kun and I are both pure bred, unadulterated Uchiha of the same bloodline. To a certain extent, we are both masters of the Sharingan, but I'm his senior by more than twenty years, and was his teacher when he was a Genin. I've had my hand in our clan's famous jutsu for far longer then he can even dream of…"

Silence fell amongst the group, wind whipping at the cloaks and trailing leaves. Reaching up with her hand, Yukari ran it through her hair, pushing her bangs out of her eyes.

"Let me show you what one born of all the Uchiha's techniques can do, Itachi-kun…"

"Oh no!" Itachi's eyes widened and he stepped back, Kisame mirroring.

However, before either of them could do anything, things suddenly started warping around them, and Itachi, Kisame, Asuma and Kurenai were suddenly caught in a threshold of twisting energy. They all froze up at once as they looked upon the woman glaring at them, the red tomoes of her Sharingan spinning before transforming into Rinnegan like eyes, but maintaining their color patterns, with a sharp pointed shuriken sitting in the center. Winds whipped around them endlessly as a heavy chakra settled in on all of them, and before they knew it, the whole world began to go out of focus.

Spaces around the four of them suddenly began to warp and twist, the buildings crumbling, the sky turning a mixture of blood red, purple and green, and the trees began to melt. The whole world became a crazy abstract picture in a matter of seconds, their own bodies beginning to twist and contort in the strangest ways possible, while Yukari stayed the same shape and form as she stood in front of them.

All of a sudden, the ground at their feet suddenly jutted up and wrapped around them, the liquidated earth entwining their bodies suddenly transforming into snakes. The snakes bit into them, effectively paralyzing the four caught in the technique. In a matter of seconds, the warped world became even more twisted as the trees began to bleed, the horizon began to burn, and the illusions became all too real for them as they formed into a horrifying Tim Burton nightmare.

As they remained paralyzed where they stood, hands suddenly came out of the ground and grabbed their limbs. The situation only worsened when the hands began clawing at both Kisame and Itachi, before ripping their limbs free from their bodies. Because they were paralyzed, they couldn't scream, and only watched as Yukari approached them while the hands tore them to pieces, leaving only their heads and torsos intact and bleeding profusely, all energy leaving them.

"_**Unlike other Uchiha, who have to kill their siblings in order to gain the powers of the Mangekyo Sharingan, I was born with it…" **_Yukari spoke, at the same time, strolling forward through the illusion as the world melted around her. Defying the physics of her own illusion, she avoided pillars of fire, pools of dripping acid, crumbling foundries and disgusting, tormented creatures made of the surroundings that reached out to grab her as she walked along. She eventually came to a stop in front of a contorted Itachi, whose eyes were widened in fear, and his fluids were being drained from him by the snake attached to his neck. Without even batting an eye, the woman reached out with her right hand, and literally tore into his chest, ripping out his still beating heart still attached by the tubes. She tossed it up and down in her hand as if it were a tennis ball and tilted her head in fascination. _**"Because I was born with it, I don't go blind from its prolonged use, and my version of the Tsukuyomi is not bounded by physical limitations. With my illusions alone, I can create a whole new world of my own, and manipulate it as if it were putty in my hands. Even when you're not looking into my eyes I can use this technique…"**_

She crushed the heart in her hands, before glaring up into the other Uchiha's fear struck eyes. Behind them, Asuma and Kurenai, though not directly affected by the technique, started to melt, their physical beings succumbing to the splash back of the illusion not intentionally cast upon them, but they were still getting a huge rebound. Yukari instead focused on Itachi, whom she then raised her bloodied hand towards, and placed it against the side of his face.

"_**They called me the **__Abomination__**, because the clan feared me for these abilities, given to me by the Sage of Six Paths' older student. They thought I was defective, a tainted Uchiha… a cursed shinobi; one that could not measure up to the clans' ridicules expectations. But, as it so happens, I can use every known ability supplied by the Mangekyo Sharingan, and with it, defy all of creation," **_she sighed, scratching the man's face, which began to bleed out. _**"I was cast out, and alone. But in my solace, I still found happiness in friends outside of our proud, arrogant, selfish 'utopia' our clan created. It was after I finally made friends, I realized: the Uchiha are a cancer in this world. A clan born of hatred and malice, and a clan that was undeserving of existence!"**_

She then smiled and poked him in the nose. _**"Which is why, Itachi-kun, after I've crushed your eyes in my hands; I'm going to destroy Madara's eyes too, to end the source of evil that will eventually lead to the destruction of the world. That is something, I will not allow…"**_

Just as she was reaching to rip his eyes right out of his sockets, the Sharingan in the Uchiha's eyes suddenly twisted and transformed into shuriken, a sight that caused Yukari to blink in surprise. All of a sudden, black flames shot out of Itachi's eyes and engulfed Yukari who staggered back with a shout of agony, and she began withering in place, surrounded by burning, black flames.

All at once, the illusion around them collapsed, and the world flashed back to normal. Asuma and Kurenai collapsed to their knees, Kisame grabbed the railings beside him to steady his shaken body, and Itachi dropped to the ground, panting heavily and clutching his right eye, which was bleeding slightly. In front of the group, Yukari continued to burn under the _Amaterasu_ flames, her hands trying to brush off the flames as she staggered backwards.

Asuma heaved up his lunch and looked up, sweating profusely and his body wracked with pain. "See… told you… cross fire…" he panted.

"What… was… that?" Kurenai panted as well, her vision blurry.

"One… of her… illusions… incredible…" the bearded man grabbed the side of his head, which was pounding as if someone was using him as a drum. "We got… caught up… big… mistake…"

Staggering back to his feet, Itachi grabbed Kisame by the scruff of his sleeve, pulling him back. As they staggered past a downed Asuma and Kurenai, the swordsman grabbed Itachi's hand, yanking it off.

"What! Are we gonna run?" the blue skinned ninja shouted, struggling to regain his sense of balance, leaning up against the railings. "You hit her with a full blown Amaterasu! She's finished!"

"No…" Itachi panted, looking up with his right eye shut and sweating a river, just as his partner was. "There was another reason… why they called her the _**Black Kunoichi**_…"

"Huh?" Kisame looked up. All round the eyewitnesses, the four Jonin all became shocked when they saw Yukari stagger back into a proper standing position, and as if she were standing casually, she looked up at them with a smile, the black flames of Amaterasu still whipping at her body. Visibly smoking from being continually burnt, she stepped forward, clothes waving in the thick, twisting, raw power of Itachi's attack inflicted upon her body at point blank, now transformed into her own aura.

"Impossible!" Kisame scoffed, blinking in disbelief. "There's just no way!"

"Believe it…" Itachi whispered back, gritting his teeth as he stared. "At first I didn't believe the stories from the war myself, but now I do. _The woman who possesses the powers to defy death himself, and walks the earth sheathed in the flames of Amaterasu, and becomes his equal_. There's no way only two of us can defeat her…"

Yukari shrugged her shoulders as she stared, giving the pair a good look over. "When you meet up with the other members of Akatsuki, tell them to stay away from Konohagakure," she said, the pair looking up more attentively in response. Whether it was out of fear or of their free will is unknown. "If they come anywhere near this village, I swear, I will burn them to the ground and purify the earth with their ashes."

They watched as the woman engulfed in black flames approached them, and the pair stood back up under their own power, sharing a tired glance.

"Not to sound cowardly, but in the worst case scenarios, those who retreat often survive," Kisame stated.

"We are in agreement then," Itachi spoke back, glaring back at his former sensei. "I wish to live long enough to see the end of this conflict…"

Without another word, the two Akatsuki lackeys vanished into their respective shunshins, leaving not a trace of them behind but the remnants of their battle. However, seeing that it was practically one-sided, it was more like a spirited slaughter then a battle.

Once they were gone and everything was good again, Yukari activated her own Mangekyo, and deactivated the Amaterasu coating her body. She shook it off and sighed in relief, before glancing over at Asuma and Kurenai, who were looking at her wide eyed and slack jawed expressions. Blinking, she smiled and walked towards them. She slowly knelt down in front of them and grinned a very disturbingly Jiraiya like grin.

"Hey… you wouldn't happen to know where the hot springs are Asuma-kun…Kurenai-chan. I'm always getting lost around Konohagakure. I have some… _research_ I need to conduct for my next book…"

Immediately after that, the pair decided to faint, with the woman looked down at them in surprise.

"Hmm… guess not…"

* * *

_**Elsewhere…**_

Tenten and Kin had the unfortunate duty of carrying Naruto some ways before they had a rest stop at a shrine. Jiraiya sat at the foot of the hill overlooking the area, while having some rice balls he packed for himself, while Naruto's teammates provided emotional and mental support.

Kin, versed in a bit of medical jutsu from Oto, did a quick first aid check of the blonde, and confirmed there was nothing physically wrong with him. All they could do for him for the following recovery period was helping him shake out of his reverie. Even though neither of them really had any experience in this field, they did a pretty good job of giving him all the support he needed. It wasn't until abut fifteen minutes of caressing and gentle words of comfort that managed to shake the young Jonin out of his reverie.

"It _**was**_ her… it _**has**_ to be," Naruto whispered, wiping the sweat from his brow and looking up at his partners. "Those Sharingan…"

"Wow, when you fall into a babbling fit, it goes on for quite a while," Tenten, sitting on his right smiled and gently rubbed his back with her arms around her, Kin taking his left arm. "Must have been one hell of a woman to scare you this much…"

"Who exactly is this Yukari to you?" Kin asked.

"I never actually met her face to face. I more like… had a dead-body-being-possessed episode, and I spoke with her through the corpse," Naruto rubbed the back of his head and sighed, looking down at his feet. "Then there was a second time, when a Kumo Squad was hired to help my team on the mission where we found Mia, by a person that fits her description…"

"So… for all those who aren't so intimately involved with your secret life…?" Kin smirked, raising an eyebrow.

"I learned that over a thousand years ago, the Sage of Six Paths… Mia… had two apprentices under her wing: the oldest student, whom she gave her eyes, and the younger brother of that apprentice, whom she gave her will and spirit. You can probably guess from this point the certain eyes I'm talking about," Naruto murmured, glaring up towards the air space in front of him. "The eyes that were said to be wielded by the elder student have reappeared in this incarnation of the older brother, Jiraiya's student, Yukari Uchiha."

"That's kind of a farfetched claim I'm willing to go along with," Kin commented, causing Naruto to look up at her, his expression unchanged. "From the way you reacted, there's no denying what you saw."

"How strong is this person, exactly?" Tenten asked.

"After listening to you three yapping…" Jiraiya spoke up, looking up towards the trio at the top of the hill under the shrine. The youngsters looked down at him in response, seeing the old hermit pick up his bag and rise to his feet with one of his serious looks in play. "Able to forcefully take control of a person's conscience and rip it out of them while they're still kicking is nothing short then S-Ranked capabilities. Yukari's abilities back in the day were several years short of the Yondaime, but at this point, chances are her powers have doubled. She would roughly be in the same league as I am or the Forth Hokage's…"

"That doesn't seem like a tough act to follow," Kin mused.

Jiraiya smirked at the girl. "Believe me when I say this, all of my students on that team became some of the strongest ninja Konoha has ever conceived; ninja that every single country came to know and fear. Don't take her too lightly…"

Naruto, Kin and Tenten, after picking up their own bags and saying a short prayer, headed down the steps and followed the Sannin's lead. The white haired man led them over a small bridge, leading down into an outpost town somewhere on the edge of the Land of Fire. Along the way down the main highway leading through the village, the group continued discussing the possible threat the person posed, as well as comparing the said Uchiha to other possible combatants.

"All three Legendary Sannin are incredibly powerful shinobi," Tenten said, glancing over at Naruto, who also looked back with a curious look in play. "Even the Third Hokage admits that Orochimaru is stronger then him. If the Mizukage, Ryoko or Jiraiya weren't there…I'm sure even our Hokage would have lost."

"On top of being strong, he's a slippery bastard," Naruto replied with a nod of agreement. "He was able to pull off a Forbidden Technique in front of four of the most powerful ninja in the world. Ryoko alone can give the Snake a run for his money, but from what she said to me back in the hospital, he was a fast runner…"

"A strong defense does function as a great offensive weapon," Kin commented. "By running, he conserves more energy. It perhaps explains his incredible success rate in battles when taking on someone far more powerful then himself."

"Where would the Sannin rank when compared with each other, though?" Tenten queried, looking up at their shockingly tall team leader.

"I'm stronger then Orochimaru," Jiraiya stated, glancing over his left shoulder. "Since our first battle in which he wiped the floor with me by just a nano thread, I've been training incredibly hard to surpass him. The day I overstepped him is far behind me now…" He looked ahead of him again as soon as he said that, hands linked with the bands of his backpack as he shifted it around his shoulders. "But my old, slimy friend is a glutton for punishment, and he can certainly take a hit. He survived a direct hit from the Mizukage's Lava Style attack and he's still walking about. A nasty invulnerability is his ace in battle…"

"What about Tsunade?" Kin asked. Jiraiya chuckled at this and looked around at the girl.

"No question, Tsunade is physically the strongest of the three of us." The hermit said this while rubbing his lower jaw, remembering the numerous times his teammate scored a home run with one of her swings, with him as the ball. "She packs a mean right hook, plus she is the best medical specialist in the world. That kunoichi can heal while fighting at the same time, which makes inflicting real damage on her impossible. However…being away from the village has had a rather negative affect on her. She's a bit out of the game…"

"So she's the weakest of the three of you?" Tenten asked, looking a little bit crestfallen at the knowledge. Jiraiya shook his head.

"Actually, after what happened to Orochimaru back in Konohagakure, I'd say she's moved up to the second strongest of the Sannin. I bet after a few weeks in office and some trips to the training field, she'll be back in her prime in no time. _**That**_ I can guarantee," the old man replied, stopping them in their tracks and turning to the three.

Looking left and right quickly, making sure the area was clear, he then leaned in and whispered to them, the trio leaning up in earnest to make sure they got what he had to say loud and clear. "Now, I'm only going to say this once, so listen up. When we meet her, do not… I repeat _do not_, under any circumstances in the first three minutes of direct contact, mention anything about her appearance, age, skin texture, or whatever, especially the specifications of our mission. No comments, no criticisms, no nothing. Got it?"

"The usual shit, sure thing," Naruto nodded, folding his arms.

"Why?" Kin asked, looking over at the blonde, then back at Jiraiya.

"Seriously, because if she's going to be in the mood I'm assuming she'll be in when we have a run in with her, she won't hesitate to level anyone who makes any remarks of any degree about her. Including _us_ if we're stupid enough to give anything away," the old hermit stood back up, placing his hands on his hips and looking down at the nervous faces of Kin and Tenten. "Alright then… now that _that_ matter is settled, we just need to make a stop at this outpost before we continue on. I need to dig up some info on the _Legendary Sucker_…"

* * *

Buying out a room for the night, Jiraiya and his team went up to the room for the breather, although the old pervert ditched them when a couple of passing women caught his attention and showed quite a bit of interest in him. Not wanting to knock the old geezer off of cloud nine, Naruto led his teammates up to their room and deposited themselves around the room. The blonde used this opportunity to get some sleep, while Kin and Tenten… well… they hopped into the same bed with him.

The first hour that passed was spent with the three of them resting. The next half an hour to follow after that, saw the young Jonin and the two Genin spending genuine, quality time with each other. The sat in a triangle on the bed cross-legged and just talked. That and they played poker with each other, betting whatever loose change they had with each other.

"You're so lucky, Naruto-kun," Tenten exclaimed, putting two cards down and picking up the number discarded from the deck.

"Huh? Lucky?" the blonde questioned, looking across at the brown haired girl, his straw hat sitting beside him, along with a folded up trench coat.

"Yeah you! _**You**_ were trained by both Lord Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade, two out of the three, Legendary Sannin (giggles excitedly)! That's why you're _lucky_!" Tenten exclaimed, clapping her hands together and looking at the blonde with stars in her eyes. "It's been my life long dream to grow up to become as strong as Tsunade-sama. All those tales of her literally flattening enemy ninja in her wake and crushing a fortress's walls with her bare hands… it's simply mind-boggling! Also, I've always wanted to meet with her face to face, so that I can learn a thing or two from her, and as her a few questions."

"Oh. Well, when you put it _that_ way, I guess I _am_ a pretty lucky guy," Naruto replied with a smile, putting down three cards and picking up another few to replenish his losses. After which, Kin in turn deposited two cards of her own and picked up another pair. "When I met her for the very first time, I thought she was the most beautiful person on the face of the earth: like an angel had lost its way up to heaven. But then, when she opened her mouth for the first time in front of me, I was deeply mortified at what came out."

"Hmm… she was drunk?" Kin asked, looking over at Naruto with an amused smirk.

"Drunk-blind and… thankfully, had bad coordination at the time," Naruto chuckled, tossing in two coins into the pot. "I was a scrappy young kid that didn't know much about women back then. A few unrestrained yet intended comments from my mouth nearly had me pan-caked to the wall on the other side of the restaurant."

The former Sound Genin looked at the blonde with even more interest, a sly grin plastered on her face as her mind worked around what he was leading up to.

"Who _**did**_ end up taking the hit?"

"Pervy Sage," Naruto laughed. "The result changed the old hermit's policy on introducing new people to his mood-swinging teammate, which was why he told us back there to watch our mouths in the first three minutes of actually meeting Baa-chan. Since I know her so well, I don't have to worry. I'm sort of outside of the equation of first meetings, since I _did_ technically save her life the last time we were hanging out…"

"You… saved her life?" Tenten repeated, blinking up at the young Jonin, who nodded back. "How?"

"Well, she was sort of in a bad way with a lot of unsavory people," Naruto replied, watching Kin and the other toss in a few coins into the center, before they all gave him their undivided attention. "One thing you _have_ to know about her before meeting her is that she is an incredibly bad gambler, and she gambles a lot, almost as much as she drinks. She's also a very unpleasant drunk. It was something she picked up after fighting in the Second Great Shinobi War, in which she lost her lover Dan and her brother Nawaki… Kami rest their souls…"

"That's… understandable," Kin whispered, looking down at her hand with a fallen look. "I can't imagine what that must feel like… I never had a family to begin with…"

"Well… I can relate on both accounts," Naruto shook his head. "Anyway… her poor and distasteful habits made her a target of a lot of organizations and clubs from whom she borrowed money from. One day, a bunch of rogue ninja caught her out in the middle of the street when she was dead drunk, and demanded that she hand over the money she owed their client, or they would see her lose a limb or two. The fact that I was also with her at the time when they came to collect on her debt, did things sort of… _escalate_…"

"What happened?" Tenten asked, wanting to hear the next bits.

"Well, she challenged them, but failed miserably, leaving me to defend her. As a Genin level kid at the time, I beat the snot out of most of them, before being knocked down. Seeing an opening, the last rogue went in to kill Tsunade, but I jumped in the way and took the blow right through the chest." Naruto placed his hand over his right pectoral where the blow was struck. "My words and courage I displayed shook her out of both reveries, and she killed the last guy herself, before healing my wounds. Heh… she also got over her fear of blood in that one afternoon. Recollection and recovery can be a real bitch sometimes…"

"Wow…cool story," Kin exclaimed, showing her hand to the pair. "Three card!"

"Straight!" Naruto put his hand down. "Read em' and weep!"

He was about to grab the money from the pot, only to have his hands slapped away and Tenten flash her hand at him.

"Not so fast! Full house!" she stated, grabbing the money for herself. "Nice try buddy…"

Groaning, Naruto lent on his hand and propped his elbow on his leg, looking off in a different direction in disappointment. Kin mirrored his actions, while the member of Team Gai giggled as she claimed her winnings.

"Come to mama!" the brown haired girl exclaimed.

"Alright… whose deal is it?" Kin groaned, looking left and right as she gathered up the cards sprawled out in front of them.

However, before they could start the next game, there was a knock on the door, distracting the three of them from restacking the deck and going for the second round. Blinking, Kin hopped off of the bed and wandered over, leaving Naruto to gather and shuffle the cards.

"Hmm… could it be the manager?" Kin mumbled, arriving at the door and unlocking it, slowly swinging it open.

The former Sound Nin, as well as everybody else inside the room were shocked to see an eighteen year old Sasuke standing behind the door draped in a black cloak with red clouds. However, it only took them a few seconds to determine that it wasn't their old friend, much to the two girls' surprise and Naruto's horror. Grabbing the deck of cards on the bed in front of him and hopping into a crouched position, the boy grabbed a card and threw it like a kunai straight for the door the moment he saw Itachi and his partner Kisame appear from behind it. During which, Tenten threw her nano wire out, hooked it around Kin's body and yanked her back towards them, the card flying straight past the abseiling and shocked girl.

A split second later, the entire second floor of the hotel they were staying at exploded when the card ignited like an exploding tag Naruto rigged up a split second before throwing it. As the entire apartment block erupted into flames, Naruto, Kin and Tenten leapt out of the bellowing hot smoke, and landed on the roof of a building next door, skidding across the tiled surface to a stop, eyes locked onto the now burning structure. People in the street below screamed and ran to get out of the way of the falling debris.

"Who the hell were they?" Tenten asked with her brow furrowed. "I knew I sensed something off coming from the hallway, I just didn't know it was coming from a pair of two weirdoes playing dress up."

"Old acquaintances of mine; Itachi Uchiha, former ANBU of Konohagakure, and Kisame Hoshigaki, former leader of the _Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist_," Naruto informed, eyes flashing as he looked at the black clouds now beginning to blanket the skies above them. "They're both S-Ranked criminals after the Nine-Tailed Fox!"

"Why?" Kin asked, glancing round at him. "Why do they want _it_ for?"

"No idea. But I can say this, this obviously isn't the first time they've come after me," the blonde replied, assuming a stance. "Let's hope they haven't wised up since our last meeting. I'd prefer it if they took it easy on me today…"

"Do you think _that_ stopped them?" Tenten asked, admiring the damage caused by the exploding card.

"Not in the least," the young Jonin chuckled.

Just as he said that, a torrent of water suddenly rocketed out of the huge hole the blew into the side of the building, which formed into a wall of water, which blew away the flames and smoke, before cascading down towards the clouds below as a small drizzle. The moment the smoke cleared, Itachi and Kisame could be seen standing in their apartment complex, relatively unscathed by the point-blank explosion. They glared down at the blonde and his teammates crouched on the roof of the building across, with the blue skinned man sharing a glance with his partner.

"He's improved, I'll give him that," the swordsman hissed.

"Naruto-kun… surprising as always…" Itachi mumbled.

At that moment, the two of them shunshined down to the roof right in front of the small team, who leapt back in response to their opponents' shocking speed. Assuming defensive stances and weapons drawn, the trio prepared for a fight for their lives.

"Whatever you two do, don't look into Itachi's eyes, focus on his feet," Naruto stated, Tenten and Kin immediately averting their gazes. "The guy can knock you out with a single glance, so watch out…"

"That's all well and good, but Gai-sensei hasn't taught our team much on fighting from just judging the feet," Tenten stated, glancing over at Naruto. "Only _he_ can fight like that…"

"I may be good, but I'm not that good, Naruto-kun," Kin replied.

"Well, do your best! This guy won't hesitate to kill you to get to me," Naruto stated, the pair nodding in response.

"Definitely improved," Kisame chuckled, reaching up and grabbing the handle of his sword tightly, his Samehada trembling in his grip. "Shall I kill his friends? They'll be a hassle for us to drag along too…"

"We want to cause as little collateral damage as possible," Itachi replied, furrowing his brow at the two Genin. "However, if they cause you any trouble, feel free to get rid of them."

"With pleasure," Kisame sneered, flashing his shark like grin in the girls' direction. Kin and Tenten shimmied back a bit, while Naruto took up a position at the head of them.

"You guys back me up. I'll hold these two off long enough for Jiraiya to show up. That explosion should have been more then enough to get his attention," Naruto whispered. His teammates agreed, at the same time, Kisame drew his sword and slammed it hard into the roof, splitting it open at the force of his draw.

This movement prompted Naruto to spring into actions. Throwing both his hands forward, he cocked them, flashing his gauntlets, with two barrels sticking up out from the top. He pressed down on the thumb triggers twice and fired off four kunai simultaneously. The knives rocketed out of the barrels like gunshots, and shot through the air towards Itachi and Kisame with paper balls tied and flailing from the ends. Kisame jumped in front of his partner and swung his sword out at the incoming projectiles, knocking them out of the air, but also setting them off. Unexpectedly, the balls at the end exploded into red clouds of unidentifiable gas.

The red clouds enveloped the pair, who stupidly enough, had the gal to breathe it in. Their reactions were instantaneous. Their eyes watered, their nostrils burned, and their skin began to itch up a storm. Kisame wailed out when he felt the salt immediately leave his body, and he clutched his face in agony, dropping to his knees, just as his partner behind him did, covering his mouth and clenching his eyes shut. Both of them had tears streaming from their eyes at this point as they coughed and retched on the red smoke.

"W-What is this?" Kisame cried out.

"I-It's like a boiling hot pot of chili has been thrown into my face!" Itachi coughed, both of them crawling about on their hands and knees.

Tenten and Kin blinked in shock at the two S-Ranked criminals' reactions, and looked over at Naruto who was also looking on with equal surprise.

"Wow… I didn't think it'd be that effective…" Naruto scoffed.

"What the hell is that stuff?" Tenten asked. "That's no ordinary gas."

"It's actually the _**Red Dragon**_ stew I made with Choji compressed into powdered form. It's a prototype gas pellet I developed a month ago to be used as a supplementary smoke bomb, to throw off any would-be pursuers. However, for the powder to cripple them to this degree…" A wide grin spread across his lips. "I've gotta start mass producing this shit. THE _**RED DRAGON**_ IS DA BOMB!"

Kisame crawled around, searching blindly for his sword which he dropped, while also scratching his skin vividly in agony. Itachi maintained most of his composure, but was still blinded badly from the gas.

"Samehada… dammit! I'm gonna kill that brat!" the swordsman roared, while sucking on his tongue. "Kami it burns!"

"…" Itachi squinted through red, stinging eyes up towards the three Genin, teeth gritted angrily. However, he was unable to see both Naruto and Kin rushing at the pair from the front, and both Kisame and Itachi, as they were raising their weapons to block in response to the sounds of rushing footsteps, simultaneously received painful kicks across their faces, sending flying back into the apartment building behind them, which they slammed into, be painfully falling the two stories to the ground, and crash landing awkwardly.

The villagers scattered at the sight of the commotion, now taken to the streets.

Growling and staggering to his feet with Samehada in hand, Kisame blinked his eyes open and glared around him, though his vision was severely blurred.

"Damn you rats! I don't care if he is a jinchuriki… I'll kill him… I swear I'll kill him!" the shark faced man growled.

Itachi, retching on whatever gas was in his lungs, also stood back up, staggering from the painful fall. Although both of them were experienced enough as it is to take down and kill a small group of kids, the attack came from the most unpredictable ninja in the world. Naruto may be several leagues behind them, but to be able to outsmart them was definitely a testament to his pranking skills. Kisame and Itachi were definitely caught off guard.

At that moment, Naruto, Tenten and Kin decided to jump down to meet the two Akatsuki members, landing in formation about ten meters out and rising to their feet, glaring at the rogue ninja with harsh stares. In spite of successfully being able to drive them off, they still had a duty and a battle to carry out, now in plain sight of the public.

"Going somewhere?" Naruto asked, watching as Itachi and Kisame squinted in his direction. "My experimental gas was stronger then I thought. You guys rely on your eyes _too_ much… especially _you_ Itachi…"

"Rat!" Kisame growled, stepping forward and bringing his sword to bare. "You'll suffer for this!"

"Bring it, sushi!" Tenten exclaimed, stepping back into a stance and gesturing for the man to bring it on, just as Lee usually did. "With that huge sword, I doubt you'll even be able to hit us."

"Don't… antagonize him too much," Naruto whispered as a small grin spread across his face. "He has the patience of a Mangrove Snapper; he'll take a bite out of you if you're not careful."

"Well, he is _kind of_ a shark," Tenten smirked.

"That blue skin makes him look a little… I don't know… _blue_," Kin giggled.

"Of course, something about him does seem kind of… _fishy_," Tenten joked again, the three of them laughing in amusement. Sometimes, every once in a while it was healthy to tease one of the most dangerous villains of all time. "Sorry, it's a very rich area…"

He didn't seem to appreciate it that much though…

"That's it!" Kisame roared, springing into action, rather clumsily at first due to his partial blindness, but eventually picking up the slack. He charged at the three of them, sword held back and ready to strike. The three of them spotted the man exploding into movement, with the young Jonin looking over to his former Sound Nin teammate and nodding to her.

Kin drew a cluster of kunai from her pouch, and with swift, elegant movements, threw them up and around in front of her and her teammates, impaling the walls of the buildings to their left and right, and the floor in front of them. Immediately, wires and bells were made aware to Kisame's eyes and ears, the little ball bearings chiming loudly when they hit their targets, with the user dropping to her knee and forming a series of hand seals, readying for her attack.

"Ninja Art: Sound Barrier!" Kin shouted, her bell chimes ringing in response to her chakra,

Kisame was thrust his sword out, intent of ripping straight through the string of wires and bells. However, the moment he hit it, he bounced off of it as if he was hitting an invisible barrier, a ripple of invisible energy spreading out over the net wall as he was thrown back. The man staggered in shock, gritting his teeth as he felt his ears ringing on top of his still itchy skin, burning eyes and nostrils.

"Damn you! What a pain in the ass!" he shouted, thrusting his sword into the barrier, only to have it bounce off. "Screw this!" Taking his weapon into a two handed grip, he swung it back then around with full force, his Samehada eating through the chakra barrier and ripping the wires apart. Naruto, Kin and Tenten leapt back in time to avoid the swing, and gain some distance from the swordsman as he slashed his way through the barrier.

"Try this!" Tenten shouted, unfurling a scroll and throwing it out in front of her, kunai laced with explosive tags shooting out. Kisame was caught off handed when the knives cut through the air towards him and detonated one after the other, forcing him to leap back. When he did, Itachi sprung into action, forming a series of quick hand signs, before inhaling deeply, making sure to maneuver around his partner and taking aim at his targets.

"_Fire Style: Burning Ash Cloud_!" Itachi then exhaled a gust of slicing, highly potent wind from his mouth and into the burning clouds formed by the exploding kunai. When it struck the clouds, the sparks and heat from the exploding tags added fuel to his heavy air and ignited it, a giant fire ball rocketing towards the three Konoha ninja in the streets. Tenten was astounded that her attack did a complete runaround and started heading towards her, with Kin preparing to make another shield.

Naruto was already on it, flashing through a series of hand seals, and inhaling a mass of air of his own. "Wind Release: Dragon Versus Tiger!" Wind shot out from his lips and formed into a shield in front of him, cutting away at the burning ash cloud before it charged the attack down, forming into a giant dragon and a tiger wrapping around each other into a single entity. The attack bellowed towards Kisame and Itachi, the swordsman responding by lashing out at the attack with his sword, cutting through the wind beast effortlessly and sucking up the chakra in one swung.

The blonde Jonin felt the rest of the chakra he was feeding into the attack get sucked out of him, causing him to collapse from the effort as he watched his wind technique get siphoned off by the blue skinned swordsman. Kin and Tenten took defensive stances as Naruto knelt on the ground, catching his breath and looking up nervously.

"The guy absorbed my attack with his sword. What incredible suction," Naruto breathed, furrowing his brow at the S-Ranked rogue ninja, now beginning to regain their bearings.

"They're too strong. We can't fight them like this. The best we can do is stall," Tenten whispered over to Naruto, who nodded in agreement. "Where the hell is Jiraiya?"

"Right here!" A voice boomed, causing the three of them, and the two Akatsuki members to look up to see a huge shadow drop down from the top of the half destroyed apartment building. The shadow crash-landed right in front of the pair, hurling dust and debris everywhere. Clad in battle armor, the toad Gama stood at the trios' defense, with Jiraiya on top striking a pose, carrying the two women he had gone off with knocked out and on his shoulders when he realized they were under the influence of a genjutsu.

"BEWARE ENEMIES! YOU HAVE STUMBLED INTO…"

"Oh God, Pervy Sage!" Naruto shouted, interrupting Jiraiya in mid declaration, causing him to stumble and nearly fall of Gama. "Are you kidnapping women now? Man, you've definitely sunk to a new low…"

"SHUT IT GAKI!" Jiraiya spun around and pointed at him, looking quite disgruntled. "I am a man who _**respects**_ the game _**too**_ much to pull tricks and kidnap! Who do you think I am?"

"A sad old man who's simply lost his way…" Tenten replied, hands on her hips as she looked up at the man oddly.

"Nonsense! These two were under the unfortunate grasp of one Itachi Uchiha, and I simply broke them out of their dreary hazes!" The hermit laid them on top of Gama and leapt off of his toad, landing at the head of the group and focusing his glare on the two Akatsuki members standing in their way. "You three have handled yourselves well. I'll take it from here…"

"Shit. I thought he was distracted," Kisame grumbled, glancing over at his partner standing to his right. "What should we do now?"

"Retreat." Itachi stated, keeping his cool in light of the situation. "A prolonged battle with the Sannin is not one we can win. I've already been forced to use Tsukuyomi once in an attempt to break out of Yukari's genjutsu, and Amaterasu immediately after. My chakra is too low… and even if I was to fight him fully rejuvenated, it wouldn't make much of a difference…"

"Very well…" the shark swordsman growled and glared at the white haired man in front of him. "Next time…"

Without another word, the two men left in a hurry, leaving a devastated scene in their wake. Once they vacated the area in their respective shunshins, it left Jiraiya, Naruto, Kin, Tenten and a small crowd staring at the empty space where the two wanted criminals once stood. To those who were fighting the fight, they breathed a sigh of relief…

"Thank Kami…" Naruto sighed, smirking up at Jiraiya when he gestured Gama out of his way and approached them. "I was bluffing before. Kisame sucked away over fifty percent of my chakra when he absorbed my Wind Release attack. There's no way I could have kept on fighting…"

"But you three held him off. Nice work," Jiraiya patted the blonde on the head and smiled at the other two, who wiped their brows off. "How was your first taste of action against two dangerous mercenaries?"

"Terrifying," Tenten muttered.

"What she said," Kin exclaimed, shaking her head. "That Sound Barrier had a lot of backlash when that fish guy ripped through it. I thought I had it down…"

"They were powerful, don't beat yourselves up over it," the Toad Sannin stated, before glancing up at the remains of their hotel room. By the looks of it, there wasn't any room left, something they'd surely be kicked out for. "Well… half our stuff is roasted, our apartment is reduced to splinters, and we just drove off two rogue ninja out to kill you three. Now, summing up the main highlights of our day so far, I guess _this_ is a sign saying we should move on…"

* * *

_**Half an hour later…**_

_**Outside of the town…**_

Sitting under the cover of a forest, atop of a boulder beneath an evergreen tree, Itachi sat with his head lowered and eyes tightly shut with his partner seething next to him on the same seat. Both Akatsuki members were busy catching their breath from their full on sprint out of the village, and were slumped over, exhausted and sweating.

Gritting his teeth, the former Swordsman of the Mist growled and ran his hand through his hair, glaring up towards the sky peeking through the canopy.

"This has been, by far, the _**worse**_ day of my life!" Kisame shouted, his partner's eyes opening slightly, revealing exhausted, charcoal black eyes that had lost some of their life.

"No question…" the Uchiha murmured.

"Kami must hate men like us! Sure he opens a door and lights our way, but the moment you try to step through, he slams it right in your face."

"Things didn't quite go according to plan," Itachi replied calmly yet in clear exasperation, breathing out a shallow breath. "We were simply… _unprepared_…"

"What are you talking about? We've been planning this day for over a month," Kisame rounded on his comrade, his composure starting to resurface as he took everything that had happened into account. "Ever since we learned of Orochimaru's planned invasion of Konohagakure back in the Land of Grass, we not only predicted every possible outcome, but also plotted out the route in which we would swing in and out without being noticed."

Itachi closed his eyes again, resting his back against the tree trunk of the evergreen behind them. "Naruto-kun was well guarded, and aside from his surprising increase in strength since the last time we encountered, he has made some very powerful allies. The shinobi of Konohagakure protect him, as does your former comrades from the Hidden Mist, and Jiraiya of the Sannin. With these obstacles in our way, I'm afraid we will be unable to acquire him at this point in time…"

"And… what about your former Jonin sensei?" Kisame queried, raising an eyebrow. "How do you propose we deal with her?"

"We got lucky this time around," Itachi stated, nodding his head. "In order to defeat Yukari, I'm afraid we will need to be accompanied by two other comrades, preferably Kakuza, Sasori or Yahiko-sama…"

"Tsk, Yahiko would be having a heyday with her," Kisame scoffed. "If I could have just used the full power of my Samehada from the get-go, things may have turned out differently!"

"We don't want to start a war…" Itachi murmured. "Not yet…"

"So… if we're not going to go after the Kyuubi… what do we do now?" the swordsman asked impatiently.

"After we recover, we go and hunt down Orochimaru, and regroup with our allies…"

"Heh… I still think this is all just a pathetic sham…" Kisame muttered.

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	47. The Third Sannin

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_The Third Sannin_

"Oh yeah baby… those are some nice curves… mmm…" Yukari whispered, licking her lips as she stared through the hole made in the wall of the side of the hot springs into the women's area. At the moment, she was enjoying the full and uncut endeavor 'researching' had to offer her, proving to all that her sexuality was just as much a moving target's as Mei's, Anko's and Ryoko's. "She's got a nice pair on her… oh yeah! That's a fine ass…"

"Excuse me, Lady Yukari," a voice interrupted her, causing the Uchiha to glance behind her from her crouching right next to the bamboo wall. Furrowing her brow, she locked her best glare onto the two Jonin standing behind her.

After regaining consciousness, Asuma and Kurenai followed the woman down to the hot springs in Konohagakure, and while trying to convince her to come to the Hokage tower with them to report to the Third Hokage, the woman, who was once a cold, calculative killer in battle, was proving to be as big a pervert as Jiraiya. Much to Kurenai's embarrassment at watching another woman peep on other women and Asuma's… well… disinterest, the pair stared at the woman oddly as she stared back.

"Listen, I hate to interrupt you while you're having such a good time, but it pains me to say to you that the Hidden Leaf is currently under red alert at the moment, and Lord Hokage is calling up every able bodied ninja in and around Konohagakure to help in the repairs after the invasion of the Hidden Sand and Sound. So… if you please, we could really use your help in these matters," Kurenai continued, clearing her throat.

"Well… I can understand you guys are busy and such, but come on…" Yukari muttered, turning back to the hot springs in front of her. "I rarely ever come to Konoha anymore… only on vacations. I think I deserve some kick backs for all the work I've been doing. Besides, I need inspiration for my next issue of _Hot Spot. _You can't distract an artist from her brainstorming hour…"

"Oh, you write those novels!" Asuma exclaimed, earning a glare from his girlfriend. Clearing his throat, he looked away, rubbing the back of his head. "I mean… I've never heard of _that_ novel series in my life and its aspiring tale of a young woman trying to find love in a world that doesn't understand her wandering sexuality…"

"If we could just… _move on_," Kurenai grumbled, glaring back over at Yukari as her posterior moved from side to side as she admired the goddesses standing in the mists of the hot spring beyond the barrier dividing this world from the 'utopia'. "It may interest you that we are currently searching for a new Kage, as Hiruzen Sarutobi has decided it is time for him to retire. With the elders gone and Jiraiya declining the position, perhaps _you_ could fill in for Tsunade until she arrives…"

"No can do! The Kage desk has an uncomfortable chair, and I don't like dealing with politics," Yukari sung, licking her lips as she watched two girls basically unfurl themselves in broad daylight. "Lady Tsunade is perfect for the role."

"No question. But Lady Yukari…"

"Unless you two are here to 'research' with me, scram!" Yukari waved her hand, but then turned to them with a lecherous grin. "But… if you two are interested…" She pointed towards two more peep holes next to her. "Ryoko-chan is in the hot springs, and she is a _very_ attractive stretcher!"

Asuma and Kurenai glanced at each other, then back. They took a few minutes of silence to think about it before sighing at the same time and walking forward.

They had to keep an eye on her anyway.

"_Fine…"_

_

* * *

_

_**Elsewhere…**_

Jiraiya and his traveling troop of young shinobi stopped off at a local market town for the day to gather supplies and to catch their breath from the earlier events of the day. It was pretty lively area, booming with a celebrative air and echoing with the sounds of businessmen making wild pitches and people having a good time. It was almost like a carnival, but in truth was one of those outbound towns that offered more then just a good time, but also booze, women, food and treats. People of all ages were fawning about in the maze of stores, a sight that attracted the trios' attention.

"Wow… this place is so cool!" Tenten exclaimed, looking left and right at the stalls when they arrived at the bottom of the canyon in which it was situated in.

"Look at all that exotic food and clothing! This is going to be great!" Kin laughed, checking out some of the dresses and scarves hanging here and there, with Naruto smiling casually in between them, hands in his pockets as he himself marveled at the fair attractions.

"This is my treat to you three for a job well done today!" Jiraiya threw both his hands out and looked around, turning on his heel and grinning down at his company. "You guys go off and have some fun. I'll meet up with you in a couple of hours, so get whatever you want or need, and afterwards we can go find a hotel and crash, alright!"

"Right!"

Before the old man could mooch off of either of them, Tenten and Kin dragged Naruto to the stands furthest away, leaving the hermit to wander aimlessly in search of his own interests. His search quickly led him to a brothel, and there he would stay for the rest of the day!

The three youngsters spent all their time at the town together, browsing the various shops and stalls, buying stuff, cheating in… _playing_ and winning games fair and square, and getting a bite to eat from their brisk window browsing. Since Naruto appreciated his friends' company a lot, he mostly hung with them, and commented them positively on the outfits they bought and tried on, and offered them his honest input. It earned him a lot of credit from the pair, whom promised to share with him something even more _special_ later on.

As enthusiastic as he was by the idea, their flirting nearly knocked him into a new type of shock. However, he managed to hold his ground and return their show of affection with his own, and at the end of the day, after buying out the stalls, walked hand in hand to find their team leader.

It didn't take them long to track their guide down, as they followed on a trail of taverns and bars, till they eventually arrived at a particular one at the edge of the town, which had the easily recognizable, booming laughter of an obviously drunk Toad Sage echoing out of the bar.

Walking in with both Kin and Tenten having their arms wrapped around his, the three walked into a sight that, out of all the people they knew, could only be appreciated by Jiraiya himself. With a lady in hand, the white haired Sannin laughed outright drunkenly, before spotting the trio standing at the entrance. He saw that Naruto was wearing a new, red trench-coat with buckles zipping it up, Tenten was in a lovely, pink and green sundress, and Kin was wearing a light brown battle dress with a white scarf around her neck.

Identifying them in the first ten seconds, Jiraiya chuckled and waved them over. "Yo! My little bro and his lady friends! Come on over and have a drink!"

Not wanting to disappoint or ruin the man's good mood, the three strolled over and took a seat on beanbags across from them, with the hermit and his company smiling at them as they ordered some green tea and sake on the side. Naruto chose the brand from the menu provided, before turning his attention to his teacher.

Giving him a look over, the blonde shook his head with a smile. "The pimps would idolize you as their next God. But you, posing as an ideal role a model for a bunch of kids aspiring to be the next great elite Jonin and teacher? I'd quit now while I was ahead…"

"Well… what about you, brat?" Jiraiya chuckled, pointing to the two girls huddled up against him and rubbing their cheeks against his shoulders as he sat cross-legged like a super villain on a hot streak. "Does that reflect a good role model for children? By all accounts, I think the position you're in at present doesn't elicit any good intentions that are appropriate for someone of your age…"

"Touché…" Naruto grinned. Kin and Tenten giggled and nuzzled him even further, earning a laugh from Jiraiya as the waitress came round with their drinks.

"Live long and enjoy every minute of your youth, kid! It was one of the many first things I ever taught you!" the man boomed, taking a shot of his sake. This earned giggles from the girls that he embraced, and whom shuffled closer into his arms. After drinking his last glass, Jiraiya grinned and nudged the ladies in kind. "Oh, by the way girls, this is my apprentice Naruto Uzumaki and his company! He is one of the many shining examples of a potential leader, an exceptional student of mine who has followed all of my teachings to the latter."

"He is adorable," the woman on his right exclaimed.

"I think he's cute," the other replied, tilting her head at the boy in thought. "Friends of yours?"

"Girlfriends!" This time it was Tenten who spoke up, the girl picking up her tea, blowing on it and taking a sip. "About a couple of months and still going strong."

"Hold onto him girl, and don't let go!" The woman on Jiraiya's left said, picking up a glass and raising it towards her. "A man like that only comes around once in a lifetime!"

"Of course!"

The group enjoyed themselves greatly, as they talked, drank and laughed throughout the entire afternoon. By the time the sun set and Jiraiya had passed out from drinking too much, Naruto, Tenten and Kin bid goodbye to his lady friends, before carrying… or… dragging the hermit off to the nearest hotel. They booked out a small room on the edge of the village, and hunkered down in the four person apartment the moment they burst in and tossed Jiraiya's drunken butt on the nearest bed.

* * *

It took another whole day, but the traveling group finally made it to Tanzaku Gai, the last known location of the Slug Sannin Tsunade. The place, outside of its architecture and splendor, was better known for its various legal gambling institutes, as well as the high number of back rooms where more risky games were played, and weren't formally known to the public. It was the ideal place for the 'Legendary Sucker' to hang out, and Jiraiya had no doubt he would get his final clue at this town as to where his former teammate was currently hiding out.

Sources pointed them in this direction. However, when the four of them reached the outland town, the very first aspect of the village they noticed the moment it came into view was the bloom of smoke rising from the well known castle sitting at the top of the hill. The smoke, to them, was a sign of trouble, and as soon as they spotted it, the four of them sprinted down into the village, and straight towards the castle.

Rushing up the stairs, they arrived at a scene that could only mirror the damage that had been done to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, a sight that the two Genin and Jonin on the team didn't find comforting. The section of the castle they were standing in was reduced to rubble, with Jiraiya and Naruto immediately inspecting the ruins, Kin and Tenten covering their flanks, while also kicking at the stones lying around them.

"What the heck happened here?" Tenten asked.

"Obviously… a fight…" Kin knelt down and began brushing away some dust and dirt. "Two other ninja?"

"Maybe…" Jiraiya replied, running his hand over the rubble of a still standing section of wall, before it decided to collapse. He then picked up a chunk of stone, which cracked and turned to dust in his hand. "Chakra reverberation; there's a lot of residue all over the place…"

"This was Baa-chan's doing," Naruto stated, standing up, picking up another stone, which also turned to dust. "Only Tsunade's attacks could have this effect on a structure. The chakra that travels with the force of her strike ripples out, and can remain with the rubble and debris for some time. She must have been really pissed off to do this…"

Kin looked around, and spotted some other strange signs of trouble in the walls. Walking over, she ran her hand over small holes punched into the sides of the castle, and took a closer look. When she did, she saw light on the other side of the holes and raised an eyebrow. She jumped when Naruto suddenly placed his hand on her shoulder and gently nudged her aside, nodding to her in appreciation, to which she smiled back. He also took a closer look, and sniffed the air. Wiping his finger around the inside of one of the holes and rubbing the dust between his digits, he then licked it, tasting the residue left behind.

"Magnesium… with traces of spark and explosive powder… I think I know who else was here," Naruto replied, turning back to Jiraiya and Tenten. The brown haired girl also spotted something on the ground, and reached down to pick it up, rolling the metal casing in her hand.

"Strange… I've never seen this before…" She looked at the bottom of the cap. "Hmm… Nine…M…M… Parabellum… what the hell does that mean?"

"I'll take that…" Naruto plucked it from her fingers, and also analyzed it. "Not quite your domain… this technology is in a class above your own…"

"Care to elaborate?" Tenten folded her arms, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Ammunition from across the seas, for the Westerners' weapons," Naruto replied, slipping it into his pocket. "Fire arms… I've had close encounters with a lot of them while I was traveling with Ero-Sennin… I… sort of pissed off this guy called Lord Nelson when he came to visit…"

"Kisarabi," Jiraiya said, looking over at the blonde, who nodded his head in response.

"Apparently, she had a bit of a scuffle with Baa-chan…" Naruto said, kicking at a large stone lying at his feet and reducing it to gravel. "We're close…"

"Well then… let's go and look for our 'little princess'…" Jiraiya chuckled, and led them off the property.

An hour of searching the town, and the team came up empty handed. However, after ducking in and out of various taverns and such, Jiraiya eventually walked into one and got bingo. Sitting at the back of the room, hidden in their own booth, he spotted not only Tsunade, but also her assistant Shizune. The Sannin was busy getting drunk, and her extra hand was trying to prevent her from drinking too much. It was only at the Toad Sage's timely arrival that she did stop to concentrate n her former teammate that had just strolled in through the door.

"Tsunade?" Jiraiya exclaimed, pointing in her direction, and hurriedly walking over. The blonde haired woman looked up in surprise, red faced and sense of balance a bit staggered from all of her drinking.

"J-Jiraiya?" She blinked, shaking her head when her white haired, former teammate stole a seat in front of her, Shizune also looking at the man in slight shock. "W-what the heck are you doing here?"

"What? Can't an old friend drop by and say hello every couple of years?" the old pervert chuckled and kicked his feet up, ordering a drink from the waitress who walked on by. Naruto, Tenten and Kin joined them shortly afterwards, all of them getting a good look at the woman who was chosen to be their next Kage. For two thirds of the group it was their very first time.

Tsunade and Shizune spotted Naruto shortly afterwards at the little pig Tonton's exclamation. Naruto smiled and stepped forward, rubbing the pig on the head affectionately before grinning in the woman's direction.

"Baa-chan…"

"Brat… is that you?" Tsunade looked the boy up and down a couple of times before smirking. "Geez, the years have been good to you. How long has it been…?"

"Three… two and a half years… I lost count," Naruto pulled up two chairs and offered them to Kin and Tenten, before taking one of his own beside Shizune, who he then turned to. "Hello Shizune? Are you doing alright?"

"I'm fine, Naruto-kun," the woman replied with a smile, leaning over and giving him a quick peck on the cheek, ruffling his hair. "It's so good to see you're alive and healthy." She then took notice of the two girls sitting beside him and staring at the third and final Sannin they have been hearing so much about. "Who're your friends?"

"Oh… they're my teammates and girlfriends," Naruto grinned, and nearly laughed when the woman he considered an older sister gave him a dead-panned look.

"G-Girlfriends…?" He shrugged.

"So they say. This kind of stuff started happening to me about a year ago, it's weird. There are more girls back at the village too… a majority of which are currently living with me," the blonde chuckled, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "But it's fun. They're all great friends…"

"Not to mention Naruto is very clingy in his sleep!" Kin giggled and latched onto Naruto's arm, who just smiled vacantly at the girl next to him, before turning back to a still dead-panned Shizune. The woman chose at this point not to pry, as it would most likely lead into a discussion that would last until dawn, and she wasn't a fan of staying up too late when she didn't want to.

"Well… you've certainly wised up a lot since the day I stitched your leg back on," Tsunade chuckled, the blonde grinning and hopping on top of the chair he was sitting on, patting his thigh when he knelt down.

"Just a reminder to keep getting back up," Naruto said, smirking. "Since then, I've never rolled over or given up." Kin smiled at him when he hopped off of his chair and returned to a normal, socializing position. "What about you? How have you been?"

"Well… let's see," Tsunade leant back and looked up towards the ceiling. Despite her mind being in a sort of haze, she was still able to draw upon memories as if they were filed in a cabinet. "Since we last met, I changed my age and appearance at least five times, I lost fifty pounds, gained twenty, grew my hair to my knees, shaved it bald when I lost a bet, grew it back out, woke up naked in the middle of a town after an all-night rave, repaid three debts, and went into debt with them again overnight, won the Land of Kumo's Sake drinking contest against the Raikage, and at least sold Tonton twice to pay off a dinner bill."

The pig sitting beside Shizune 'oinked' in disapproval at that memory.

"So to sum it all up, your life has been one big, fucked up rollercoaster," Jiraiya nodded in understanding upon hearing what she had to say. "I've got to say Tsunade; you've reached a new low."

"What about you, you old goat?" the blonde asked, placing her hand on her cheek and propping her elbow up on the table, glaring across at the white haired pervert she knew so well. "In the time since I last met up with you, you _must_ _have_ hit rock bottom… yet…

"Again," Shizune concluded, smiling. Tonton oinked again, earning a giggle from Tenten across the table.

"Aw come on! You give me too little credit," Jiraiya leant onto the table and smiled across at his teammate. "How would or could I ever degrade myself or others around me to such degrees? Name one time I've ever done so!"

"How about the time you used _**me**_ as a twenty-five ryo chip at that poker club we visited five years ago," Naruto glared up at the man he called his master. "How's that for one of your 'degrading' moments, Ero-Sennin?"

The man under his student's glare chuckled and shook his head, trying to throw any blame directed towards him off.

"Oh no… I can sink _waa-yyyy_ lower then that!" Actually, he said _this_ with great pride, and folded his arms, grinning widely. "If it helps, I made at least a hundred thousand ryo in one night!"

"Wow, that's not bad," Tenten said, looking quite impressed.

Shizune however, looked over at a rather crest-fallen Naruto. "You were used as a twenty-five ryo chip?"

The boy threw his arms up, almost knocking over the drink the waitress just put down, startling her. "I was still asleep! He burst into my room one night, picked me up without me knowing, and the next thing I knew, I was lying in my pajamas on an uncomfortable, green table, covered in poker chips in front of a whole crowd!" He sighed and slumped over, grabbing his drink and glaring up at it. "My most embarrassing moment in my life…"

"Geez, I already apologized like… a hundred times for that. Just let it go, kid," Jiraiya shot back, earning a disapproving stare from the blonde. In the meantime, Tenten and Kin were holding in laughter in the background, stifling smirks and looking like they were about to burst.

"I'm gonna find another table…" Naruto stood up and walked off with his tea, leaving Kin and Tenten to laugh their hearts out, Shizune giggling on the sidelines, Tsunade smirking, and Jiraiya grinning. "Nice to see you again, Baa-chan!"

"Like wise, brat!" The woman then threw an empty sake bottle at his head before he was out of sight, knocking him flying about ten feet at the force before face-planting the floor. "AND STOP CALLING ME _THAT_!"

"_Damn… her aim is as good as ever…"_

_

* * *

_

_**Later that night…**_

Naruto eventually returned from his timeout with newly gained vigor, and restarted an animated chat with Kin, Tenten and Shizune. Jiraiya spoke with Tsunade for a majority of the night to follow, which eventually led into a friendly poker game. The Slug Sannin decided to test her luck, but failed each and every time, even against Jiraiya's worst hands of the next few hours. This further proved the perverted hermit's theory that the woman, his former teammate and closest friend, had a constant, unending aura of bad luck.

He could practically see the green light wafting off of her like stench lines whenever she threw down her hand.

Eventually, after a round of more drinks and more talking, Jiraiya escorted, or rather carried a heavily drunk Tsunade back to her apartment and rented out a room for his team. Naruto, Tenten and Kin knew how to play the waiting game, and were letting the Toad Sannin deal with convincing his former teammate to return to the village and accept the role of Hokage.

The three of them hunkered down in their room, while Jiraiya spoke with Tsunade in the other. While Kin was playing around with a new weapon she was developing that produced sound, across the room, sitting on the floor with her legs crossed with a scroll deposited in front of her, Tenten was sharpening some of her own weapons in her collection, and Naruto was sitting on the window frame looking out and over the town. Though apparently caught up in their own little devices, their senses were on high alert, so it wasn't a surprise to them when there was a brief knock on the door, followed shortly by the reappearance of a familiar face.

Shizune poked her head in with a smile.

"Hey guys!"

"Hey, Shizune," Tenten exclaimed back, lowering one of her kunai and her cleaning cloth. Kin also grinned over at the young apprentice, while Naruto simply glanced over, then back towards the village.

"I'm… sorry… am I interrupting anything…" the woman asked timidly.

"No… not at all… just sharpening tools," the bun haired girl replied, tossing her knife in the air and catching it on her finger.

"Working on a few tune ups," Kin replied.

"Stargazing…" Naruto spoke up.

Shizune walked in, quietly closing the door behind her. Making her way over to one of the beds, she sat herself down and looked around at the small team. The expression on her face was one playing a vacant smile, indicating that she was in deep thought. Before the group could fully return to their tasks, the woman chose to interrupt them, fidgeting at the same time.

"I heard what happened to Konohagakure… Lady Tsunade and I both," the Sannin apprentice said, Tenten, Kin and Naruto looking over at her. She smiled nervously. "You don't need to be subtle about your purpose here. I can safely guess at this point that the four of you are here to convince Lady Tsunade to return to the Hidden Leaf…"

"When did you catch on?" Tenten asked, blinking in surprise.

"Well… I assumed from the three Genin wearing the Leaf headbands so far out of their home village accompanying Jiraiya means that either your team leader has developed a disturbing fetish, or you're here for my master," Shizune giggled, scratching her cheek with her finger. "It would have been better if only one of you had come for her…"

"It was ordered by the Hokage," Kin explained, giving Shizune a meek look. "Jiraiya was to be accompanied by a small recovery team in the search for Lady Tsunade of the Sannin, simply for his protection, as well as to test our newly appointed Jonin…"

Shizune blinked, and then looked over at Naruto, who smiled and shrugged back at her.

"I've got to get more points on my record," the blonde replied, before looking back up towards the night sky. The woman looked at him dumbfounded, and shakily pointed in his direction.

"Y-You're a Jonin…?"

"Anyway… how is Lady Tsunade taking it?" Tenten asked, looking up at Shizune. "Lord Jiraiya should have spilled the beans by now. So… is she willing to come back to Konohagakure or what?"

Shizune shrugged. "She's still thinking about it." The woman sighed, as did Kin and Tenten, who began rubbing their heads and noses in exhaustion.

"This might take longer then we thought…" Tenten mumbled.

"Well, until she makes up her mind, we're just going to have to sit tight for a while…" Kin stated, with her companion nodding in agreement. She then turned towards the window where Naruto was sitting. "You know her best Naruto-kun, what do you think she-…?"

The window was empty, the blonde no longer present. Shizune and Tenten also looked on in surprise, with Kin hopping to her feet and skipping over to the window, looking out over the streets. Making a peeved face, the raven haired girl sighed and turned back to the startled pair in the room behind her.

"I hate it when he does that…"

* * *

_**Perched on the Castle's Main Archway…**_

Tsunade was busy staring out over the town herself, finding a bit of comfort in the lights that were flickering brightly around the village. In spite of being dragged back to her apartment stone drunk, she was quick o recover and leave the moment Jiraiya left. After being asked to return to Konoha to fill in the role of Hokage on her former master's retirement, she was quite hesitant.

After everything she had been through while working and living in the _Village Hidden in the Leaves_, it wasn't surprising. She was still haunted by the memories of both her lover Dan and her younger brother Nawaki. Things didn't seem to sit right with her in Konohagakure anymore.

Clutching the necklace she wore around her neck, she brought her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them, letting out a sigh.

"What should I do?"

"Go home…"

A new voice startled the woman and she looked up towards the next level on the archway she was perched on, to see Naruto, his trench coat now flipped over to black, straw hat worn and mask over his face. Even with his disguise on the woman still knew on first glance exactly who it was, and her throttle of adrenaline slowly dropped.

The blonde Jonin looked down at her from behind the shadows of his mask, blue eyes unwavering and hands in his pockets.

"It's easier said then done, brat," Tsunade muttered, glaring back over towards the village down the hill. "There's too much pain over there… too much hatred, too much ignorance. Konoha is part of a world that I can't simply go back to. Come on, gaki… you must hate it more then me for all the 'good' it's done to _you_…"

"In all honesty Baa-chan…in spite of what you may think… I _tolerate_ it," the blonde replied, lowering his head. "I used to express disinterest in the villagers who lived within those walls, and only desired to protect them above all else, hoping that one day I would be able to change their view on the world. I myself acted more coldly towards anything remotely sentimental or close to it. However… this past year has shown me that I can have more of a life in Konohagakure then I can anywhere else…"

"Tsk… what makes you say that?"

"Well… my friends of course," Naruto stated, looking out over the village. "Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan, Haru-chan, Ryoko-chan, Anko-sensei, Mia-tan, Isaribi-chan, Kin-chan…"

"All these people you're mentioning sound like… girls…" Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"Well… about ninety percent of the people crashing at my place are," Naruto mused. "I'm not going to count Haku… I'm still not sure where to place him… or her…"

"In any case, what reason do I have to go back? You tell me," Tsunade said in a demanding, yet calm voice. The masked Jonin shrugged his shoulders and looked around a bit more, trying to find a reason in which to convince the Sannin to return with them.

It wasn't going to be easy though. He had to be careful. When it came down to arguments, she was one of the most stubborn opponents he had ever crossed words with.

"Do you remember… all those years ago, when I asked you whether you had something or someone worth risking your life for?" Naruto asked, earning a rather befuddled look from the old woman, who glanced up at him curiously. "When I first asked you that question, you said to me without any lingering thought… _absolutely nothing._ Yet, despite your words, that very next day, you risked your own life to protect mine and said that I was someone else to you, someone worth protecting…"

Tsunade huffed and looked away, looking a bit put off. "So…?"

"When you killed that rogue ninja after I defended you from his lackeys… what was it that you were thinking about… or who?" Naruto asked, being a bit more persistent. "What drove you to risk your life for mine?"

The woman furrowed her brow and shut her eyes, thinking back to that time. Of course, she was dead drunk, and probably wouldn't have any proper recollection of that day so many years ago. However, after giving her five minutes, the patient Nightwalker was eventually rewarded with an answer from the Sannin.

"You… reminded me of them… of Dan and Nawaki… and what they stood for, what they believed, and what they wanted to become," Tsunade replied, biting her lower lip. "There was no way I was going to let your sacrifice for my sake go to waste."

"Then… why don't you take _their_ beliefs with you, and become Hokage for our village," Naruto continued, looking back down at her. "Don't let their sacrifices or their dreams for the future go to waste. If you truly care for them, you would live for them… Kami knows that I would. Though attachments seem trivial for a ninja, I'll bet anything to anyone that what happens to us in the past molds us into whom we are today. But… we can't let bad memories and experiences consume us completely; it's our choices in life and our willpower that determines the future…"

"That's pretty deep, even for you," Tsunade chuckled, earning a shrug from the younger blonde standing up high.

"I'm not much of a talker, but when it comes to dealing with bad things like loneliness or loss, you may as well place that Kage hat on my head out of principle," Naruto replied, smiling down from behind his mask towards Tsunade. "_I play the fool to hide a warrior's pain_. It's one of the many masks I wear to conceal how I look on the outside, but at the same time, I never let it cloud my better judgment."

"Do your friends know about it? About your past I mean?"

"I believe they've all seen who I really am… and… _surprisingly_… they're not bothered by it," Naruto lowered his head a little. "They don't want to talk to me about it much, but they're just… happy that I'm around; just like I am to have them. However, the question here is not whether I am willing to give my life for those I care about, which I would without hesitation, but really, it is whether or not _**you**_ are willing to protect the memories of those you love, as well as those still alive, Baa-chan…?"

There was a good, long pause for the next several minutes, leaving the pair in a deathly silence. Tsunade considered the boy's words, as they felt the wind whip at their hair and clothes, its hush being the only thing alive in the moments that went by. Looking down, the Sannin looked at the necklace she wore, with the faces of those who had previously worn it, fading into view, before vanishing a split second later. She clenched it around her hand and closed her eyes.

"My little brother… and Dan… they've gambled just as much as I have, and ended up losing everything," Tsunade murmured. "I've had my fair share of bad experiences… coping with death, dealing it out, fighting in wars… it's most certainly a record of life that can measure up to the standards of a Kage. But…I'm not sure… if I'm ready to gamble another person's life, if I was to safeguard it as the leader of the _Village Hidden in the Leaves_…"

"Then let me roll the dice for you…"

Tsunade jumped when Naruto suddenly appeared in front of her, his hand extended towards her.

"If you're _that_ afraid to gamble another person's life for the sake of your own, then you can deal with mine," Naruto stated without hesitation. "If you trust your life with me, then I will trust mine with yours … unless… you're willing to bet all in…"

The woman blinked up at him, seeing him eye-smile from behind the holes in his mask.

"We're practically on the same table, so why fight it?"

It took the Sannin a minute or so to finally reach a decision, and so, with a smile on her face, the woman stood up under her own power, and removed the necklace from around her neck. Naruto blinked in surprise when she unexpectedly grabbed the mask on his face, and removed it, before leaning in and pressing her forehead against his, grinning in amusement.

"You shouldn't wear masks, brat," she giggled. "Otherwise girls won't be able to see that handsome face of yours or your kind heart…"

She took his hand in hers, and thrust the necklace into it, earning another surprised blink from him.

"Alright then… I'm betting all in," Tsunade continued, wrapping the boy's fingers around the necklace. "Just don't die…"

Naruto, feeling the weight of the necklace in his hand, grinned and looked back up at the woman. "Deal."

Tsunade chuckled and stepped back, rubbing her head as she looked out over the village, with Naruto pocketing the necklace, the woman handing his mask back.

"Ugh… I'm going to have grey hair by the end of this… I know it…"

"Come on, you don't look that bad…"

"No… hang on… sorry," Tsunade rubbed her brow, and then glanced over at the blonde. "What I mean by that is when I break the news to my old teammate that I'm cutting out on our deal."

"Wait… you're not referring to…?" Naruto did not like where this was going. When the blonde Sannin was referring to 'other' teammate outside of the old goat, whom she passionately named Jiraiya, meant only one person.

"Orochimaru and his lackeys confronted me here earlier today… saying that he will bring back Dan and Nawaki if I fixed his arm…" the woman explained, placing her hands on her hips as she looked down at him. "I got into a scuffle with one of his henchmen as a result…"

"That's an underhanded deal," Naruto frowned and folded his arms. "The _Impure World Resurrection_… what a stupid technique… did he mention when he was going to meet up with you?"

"By the end of the week, at the castle…"

"Good… then that gives us a week to prepare to kill him for good," Naruto exclaimed, slamming a fist into his open palm. "I feel like barbequed snake this Saturday, with a side of eggs…"

"Barbequed snake?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow at him.

"Trust me. It's actually quite delicious…"

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

_**

* * *

**_

_**Omake – Episode 4 - The Adventures of Mia Part 2**_

Naruto was busy enjoying a nice hot bath out in his springs, carpeted by the condensation, heat, and boiling in his lake of an outdoor tub. The blonde smiled as he rubbed his hair out with a wet cloth, a big smile plastered on his face.

"Whoo… mum and dad really put everything they had into building this place!" the blonde exclaimed, lying back against the rocks and looking up through the steam. "Oh well, home is home. Still, it makes me wonder… whether there was something else they were trying to accomplish with this…"

There was a splash in front of him, the young Jonin looking back down in surprise. He blinked when he saw something he never thought he would see before, not in several years. A poster girl posing for one of those nudist magazines that Ryoko usually bought, sitting right in front of him in all her glory. Of course, since she was lying down on what looked to be a bed didn't make the illusion of realism all that believable.

"Hmm… why is there a supermodel posing right in front of me?"

A split second later, the magazine that was being held in front of his face, lowered itself to reveal the familiar red hair and cheerful gaze of Mia. The Sage of Six Paths hummed happily as she flipped through the pages one at a time, enjoying the read.

"Naruto-kun! These girls all have really big boobs! They seem to be enjoying them and think they look good, but isn't it kind of uncomfortable having them so grotesquely large? I don't think they're real…"

Naruto, still in a bit of a haze, grabbed the magazine from her hand and flipped it over to the page she was looking at. It was a picture of two girls in passionate embrace, doing some rather risqué things. He shrugged his shoulders and tilted his head at the picture.

"Ergh… they're fake; D-cups like that aren't natural…"

"Hey! How about mine?" Mia exclaimed, cupping her own reasonably sized assets. "They're okay, aren't they?" Naruto chuckled and leaned back, tossing the magazine aside.

"Actually, they're great, I never took the time to think about it, bu-AAAARRRRRGGHHH!" Naruto leapt to his feet, staggering back, but stopping immediately when he hit the wall behind him, Mia watching him with that ever present smile. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE MIA? No… scratch that… HOW WAS I OUT OF IT ALL THIS TIME!"

Mia blinked. "I sensed it…"

"W-wha… huh? N-Never mind, just leave… please…" The next thing he got was a severe blood nose when the woman stood up out of the bath, flashing her super-model body to the blonde. Naruto shoved both his fingers up his nose to stop the faucet from pouring.

Clad in all her angelic glory, the woman waded over to him slowly, forcing him back against the wall surrounding the springs. The fact that they were both naked didn't help the blonde at all.

"Do you want to have sex, Naruto-kun?"

"Does… ugh… wha?" Naruto spluttered, his whole face turning red as the young woman wrapped her arms around him, and pressed his face into her well endowed chest.

"I feel something hot and burning… it's so… _enticing_," Mia exclaimed, before grinning down at the young boy childishly. "I've read the whole Icha Icha novel, so I promise you Naruto-sama, I will not screw up."

"T-That's not necessa… AAAHHH! W-WHERE ARE YOU PUTTING YOUR HANDS! MIA! HEY! NO! STOP!"

_**CENSORED…**_


	48. Rendition of Memories

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Rendition of Memories_

_**One week later…**_

"Why is it that every single student of the Legendary Sannin Jiraiya, has written and published a novel series that is in some way perverted and erotic?" Tenten questioned in amusement, browsing through the small stack of books Naruto and Kin had deposited in the middle of their room and were currently skimming through each individual copy.

After learning of what was going to occur later today, the team had set aside all of their free time in preparation for the meeting, which would most definitely lead into a violent confrontation, to mentally and physically prepare themselves. Since the night about a week ago when they received the full details of Orochimaru's demands, proposals, and henchmen involved in the trade-off, Naruto, Kin and Tenten underwent vigorous training in order to face whoever it was they were going to be fighting. Jiraiya was also intent on bringing down his former teammate, and as a result, spent most of his time with Tsunade organizing a plan to capture the slippery slime ball.

Several days later and hours of grounding, Team 7 and the Sannin were set and ready.

The next hour before the meeting that was to take place, was spent as leisure time at the hotel, where the youngest members of the group were pouring over some surprising reading material.

Tenten raised an eyebrow as she looked from one book to another, laid out before her. Not only were Jiraiya's six limited edition issues of _Icha Icha_ present, but also, both editions of _Stuck in the Middle_ by Naruto Uzumaki, the three uncut versions of _Hot Spot_ by Yukari Uchiha, the aspiring trilogy of _Sweet Relief_ by Jin, and shockingly enough, a collection of escapades entitled _Four's a Party_ by Minato Namikaze.

"I still can't believe your dad, the Fourth Hokage, wrote a book of his own," Kin murmured as she read the back of it.

"Not to mention it's based on his triumphs of love over the course of his Jonin and ANBU careers…" Tenten exclaimed, flipping open to the end of the last book and raising an eyebrow. "Hmm… and describes in detail a lot of what he and his wife did in their spare time…"

Naruto sighed and looked up at them with a rather nauseated expression. "I did not want to see that book again, I am still horrified…"

"It may be weird to you, but it's interesting to us," Kin giggled, turning the book she held over and flashing the blonde a picture in the pages. "Your mum did illustrate these after all!"

"OH GOD!" The blonde Jonin wanted nothing more then to gouge his eyes out right then and there.

"I had no idea she was that flexible," Tenten laughed, tilting her head at the pictures.

"Please put those away…"

"The Fourth Hokage also explains how he and Kushina invented some of their own positions," Kin blinked, moving her nose in closer to the words on the pages. "What is a number twelve?"

"Apparently it's when your partner is twentying your eleven, after she's done a two on your sixteen," Tenten murmured.

"Give me those!" Naruto shouted, attempting to grab the books out of their hands, only to be effectively stopped by both girls shoving either their hand or their foot into his face. "Hey! Argh… seriously! Come on!"

"Wow… a number seven looks good," Tenten licked her lips, with Kin nodding in agreement. "I could go for one of those, right now…"

"You said it…"

"What is wrong with you two?" Naruto cried out, falling flat over when the girls managed to shove him off.

The moment he hit the floor, they suddenly heard the sound of hurried footsteps echoing down the hallway outside their room. A split second later, the door to their apartment flew open. Panting, the intruder revealed herself to be Shizune, and the moment the three kids in the room turned to look at her, they immediately saw that something was wrong.

"Shizune?" Tenten blinked.

"Where is Tsunade-sama?" the woman asked, her voice desperate and worried.

"Wait… what… did something happen?" Kin asked.

"She knocked me out and ran off earlier this morning! I… I don't know… what she…"

"What the hell does she think she's doing," Naruto rose to his feet, venturing a guess as to what Jiraiya's teammate was attempting to do.

"She's going to see Orochimaru… by herself?" Tenten also stood up, catching on to what Naruto was thinking and looking a might bit concerned. "Is she crazy? She knows we planned for this!"

"I should have seen this coming," Naruto muttered as he marched over to his bed and grabbed his trench coat and assorted weapons. "I _did_ inherit that lone wolf aspect from Ero-Sennin and Baa-chan after all…"

"She intends to defeat him on her own. Why?" Kin asked.

"It's because she doesn't want us to interfere and get hurt…"

Just as Naruto, Tenten and Kin were getting ready, the window next to them flew open, and Jiraiya stepped in, panting as well, and looking way worse then ever before. The Sannin shook his head to clear it of the butterflies he could see fluttering around, before furrowing his brow in Shizune's direction.

"Where is she?"

"Gone off to fight Orochimaru," Naruto replied, slipping his hat on after his sandals. As soon as his face became overshadowed by the brim of his straw hat, he glared up towards the window where his teacher was perched. "We have to go help her… now!" Tenten and Kin were as ready as every by the time Jiraiya showed up, the old man nodding his head.

"Alright…" The old hermit crawled in through his makeshift entrance, but stumbled on his landing.

"Hey, you okay?" Kin asked, walking up to him and placing her hand close to his forehead, sliding it under his headband. "You don't look so good. Geez… that's a high temp…"

"My teammate drugged my drink last night… it's inhibiting my hand-eye coordination and chakra control," the Sannin replied in a bit of a slurred voice, groaning and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Shit… this ain't good…"

"Here… take these," Shizune replied, pulling out some round pills from her dress pocket and crushing them. Tenten hurried into the kitchen area and grabbed a glass of water, which she handed to Jiraiya to help gulp down the meds. "It should clear up your head, but the circulation of your chakra will still be botched up. Give it until tomorrow, and you should be back up to full strength…"

"That's fine. Unfortunately, I'll only be able to fight at fifty percent strength. Ugh… this is a low moment for the Toad Mountain Sage…" Jiraiya murmured, downing the rest of the water and slapping both his cheeks. "Okay… let's go find my teammates!"

* * *

_**On the outskirts of the village…**_

Already, the damages from a fierce fight could be seen patterned all across the open valley outside of town. All signs pointed to a colossal battle that had taken place, and still was when a wall of smoke and fire suddenly erupted over one of the hills, followed by several mores. These explosions tailed after a certain blonde woman, as she back-flipped away to avoid them, before landing some distance away from the last explosion to rip into the ground and throw debris into the air.

Dropping to her knees, Tsunade gasped for breath as she stared through the smoke, trying to find her target. The smoke and dust eventually parted, revealing four figures standing right through the thick of it, causing the blonde woman to furrow her brow and curse her bad luck.

When she went off on her own to face Orochimaru to kill him, she didn't expect him to be accompanied by more then one of his lackeys. Not only was his personal surgeon and right hand man Yoroi with him, but hiding in the shadows, there was also the crystal user Guren and the bounty hunter Kisarabi. Trying to focus on the Snake Sannin alone resulted in Guren and Kisarabi persistently warding off her every attack, and retaliating with deadly force.

Gripping her right arm which was dripping blood from a gash made by the crystal user, Tsunade rose to her feet as she met the smirks and glares from her four opponents.

"You should just throw in the towel, my dear," Orochimaru hissed, his face dripping with sweat from the pain coursing through his body as a result of his injuries inflicted upon him from the failed invasion of Konohagakure. "You are outnumbered and out of your league. After all, the years of running and hiding have not been good for your fighting skills at all, have they?"

"Speak for yourself, slime ball!" Tsunade snapped back. "After all these years we've been apart and look at you; a pale, washed up, hunk of disgusting flesh and hatred, desperately clinging onto life."

"My… at least that wicked tongue of yours hasn't lost its vigor," the Snake Sannin replied with a grin. He glanced round at Guren, seeing the purple haired woman was eager to go again. "That is something we don't need on her. Take her down, and rip it out of her mouth…"

With an affirmative nod, Guren whipped through four hand seals, before throwing both her arms out. _"Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Blade!"_ The result, liquid crystal began creeping out and over her skin, and transformed into sharp, elongated gauntlet blades. The purple, diamond like substance flashed in the sun as the woman assumed a fighting stance, and launched herself at the older woman.

Baa-chan was quickly up on her feet and responded quickly, sending a jab right at the rogue ninja flying straight at her. Guren quickly spun through the air in her charge and ducked under the blow, sliding right between the Sannin's legs. Being far more nimble then Tsunade in terms of hand to hand combat, the purple haired Kekkei Genkai user managed to throw one over the old woman and struck at her from behind.

Tsunade however, responded quickly, ducking under the hook, and kicking out at the woman's feet, knocking her over. Hitting the ground hard, Guren rolled, avoiding an elbow sent down at her when the blonde attempted a drop blow to end the fight. The result was an explosion of rubble on the strike's impact with the ground, the blast knocking Guren away, and clouding Orochimaru's view of the battle's continuation.

The Snake Sannin furrowed his brow as he watched Guren struggle against his former teammate. His second most promising body candidate leapt out of the cloud of bellowing dust, while being doggedly pursued by Tsunade, dodging and avoiding blow after blow, which would be fatal. The narrow misses and the vivid taijutsu battle had him and his other lackeys watch on in interest, on edge, and in frustration.

However, in spite of the threat the blonde Sannin posed, Guren didn't allow that fact to show on her face, and traded blows one after the other, managed to gash the woman across the shoulder on a bypass.

"She's stronger then I originally thought," Orochimaru murmured. "How annoying…"

"Apparently, ninja can maintain most of their skills, strength, and battle instinct, even after years of being out of commission," Kisarabi commented, rubbing her chin as she observed the battle on the Snake Sannin's left hand side. "She may be off the chessboard, but the piece can still move as directed…"

"I hired you… to **kill**, _Kisarabi_, **not** for you to give opinions on fights," Orochimaru hissed.

"If you wish for me to kill her Lord Orochimaru then please, give the order," the woman replied, placing her hands back onto her belt and readjusting it a bit.

The man furrowed his brow and looked back, seeing Guren suddenly get kicked across the face and sent tumbling back. On a roll, she flipped back onto her feet and skidded to a stop ten meters away from her opponent as Tsunade charged her down. The woman gritted her teeth, the cheek which her opponent hit encased in a glassy patch of crystal armor, which absorbed the blow, and left her, though a little frazzled, unscathed.

Orochimaru huffed and lowered his head. "Take out her legs. At least I'll have something to take back…"

Kisarabi nodded and reached onto her back, drawing a sawn off lever action rifle and cocking it. Flipping the sight open, she took aim of her target, who was now on top of Guren, slamming punches into her face one after the other. The crystal armor now plastering the rogue ninja's face was holding at present, but for how long against those punches was yet to be specified.

Breathing in deeply, Kisarabi looked down the line of the sights of her sawn off rifle through her eye patch, and in just under a second, fired the first shot. The loud bang didn't reach Tsunade's ears until a second after she felt a sharp sting in her right leg, followed by a second one to her right shoulder, which sent her sprawling to the ground. Blood splattered everywhere as two holes were punched into her, effectively relieving Guren from the savage beating.

Tsunade cried out in pain and crawled to a sitting position, gripping her shoulder and her leg, both were bleeding profusely. At the same time, Guren sat up as well, her crystal face shield shattered from the blows, revealing a broken nose, two bruised cheeks, a bleeding lip and a swollen eye. Even with the shield, she was effectively hurt.

"Dammit… bastards!" Tsunade growled, glaring up towards Kisarabi, Orochimaru and Yoroi as they marched towards her across the field, the bounty hunter reloading her weapon with new rounds.

"Try not to move," Yoroi chuckled, the three of them stopping beside their teammate, as Guren staggered to her feet. Orochimaru chuckled as she looked the woman over.

"You have slacked off, Tsunade," Orochimaru exclaimed. "You were much stronger back in your prime…"

The woman smirked back, ignoring the throbbing pain coursing up her leg and shoulder. "What about you? Focusing all your time in stealing techniques, you've completely discarded physical strength for an enormous chakra tank, and in so doing, compensate for your weaknesses by throwing out jutsu after jutsu. What would happen, I wonder, if your ability to use ninjutsu is _completely_ taken away…?" The Snake Sannin frowned at her.

"Don't test me woman. You're lucky I need you alive…" He then turned to Guren, who held up her right arm and clenched her fist. "Take off both her legs so we can drag her back!"

The rogue shinobi's arm suddenly extended and grew into a crystal blade, encasing her limb. The purple diamond substance flashed in the sun, the woman then taking aim with it. However, before she could make her move, a shadow caught their attention, and Orochimaru and his troop all looked up at once, blinking in surprise when they saw a rain of kunai lacked with explosive tags flying straight towards them. At that moment of distraction, Tsunade suddenly felt a long, wet wad of flesh wrap around her abdomen before she was swiftly pulled backwards at high speed, and away from the attack zone.

The kunai landed on top and around the four enemies like hell fire, and lit up all at once like the fireworks on Chinese New Year. The entire ground within the radius of the explosion was torn up, chunks of rubble flying off and disintegrating as the blasts consumed their intended targets. Tsunade was able to witness this on her unexpected flight, before she was caught by a pair of strong arms.

Blinking in shock, the older woman looked up to see Jiraiya holding her, the old man grinned wildly. When she looked down, she saw the wet flesh that wrapped around her, was in fact a tongue belonging to her companion's summon Gama. The toad released her and withdrew its tongue, before vanishing in a puff of smoke, leaving her, Jiraiya, Shizune, Naruto, Tenten and Kin standing on the sidelines, to watch the display of explosions in front of them.

"Nice one, Tenten," Naruto exclaimed, grinning over at the girl, who winked back.

"I aim to please," she replied.

"What the heck are you guys doing out here? I thought I made it perfectly clear that I wanted to do this alone!" Tsunade snapped, her apprentice immediately getting to work on healing her wounds. The blonde helped along by adding her own chakra to the mix, the one rifle round that was still lodged into her muscle falling out as the wounds began to heal up.

"Ugh, Baa-chan, you're as stubborn as ever," Naruto muttered, watching as the explosions died down, and leaving a crater with a wall of smoke obstructing their view. "We had a plan, and you messed it up. I just knew you would act recklessly…"

"Look who's talking. You take right after me and the goat," Tsunade replied. Jiraiya blinked and looked down at his teammate, pointing towards himself.

"Goat?"

"Yes… you… _Goat_…" Tsunade growled. The white haired old man allowed a moment of pause, before a lecherous and proud grin crossed his lips and he made a pose.

"How about… _Stud_?"

The woman responded with an elbow to his crotch, as she was practically being cradled by him on the ground. The Toad Sannin choked out a wince and his face turned blue before he collapsed to the ground, holding his throbbing nuts in his hands in agony… or… better yet… his one nut.

"You want me to hit the left one next?" Tsunade asked in irritation. Jiraiya shook his head in response, crying a river of anguish.

"_Goat_… is just fine…" he wheezed.

Tenten and Kin chuckled, while Naruto just continued to glare into the wall of smoke. Seconds later, during which time Tsunade was nearly fully healed, the wall parted suddenly, Orochimaru's hand extended, and his henchmen flanking him. Guren had her arm held up, and a crystal shield forming a dome around them, which then collapsed as she relinquished hold of the technique. Once a clear view was had of their adversaries, the Oto Ninja stepped forward into defensive formation.

"My, my… isn't this a surprise… though an unexpected one," Orochimaru exclaimed coldly, licking his lips. "Jiraiya… and Naruto-kun… my, it certainly is a pleasure… to see you two again… so soon…"

Shaking off the pain he was feeling from his throbbing testicle, staggered to his feet and grinned, still holding his crotch. Trying to act serious, all he did was look even more stupid as he placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder for support.

"Orochimaru… man… this _is_ a 'surprise'…"

"Hmm," the snake hissed back snidely.

"So, what has my slimy old friend been up to this past week since we last met eh, _Shit-stain_?" Jiraiya asked, raising an eyebrow. "Should I take a guess? I've got a whole list just for you: kidnapping, torture, espionage, assassinations, larceny, assault, murder, genocide, human experimentation…"

There was a bit of a pause as the Konoha Ninja traded glares with the smirking Oto Shinobi, as Jiraiya tried to end his list with a satisfactory bang!

"Sodomy?"

Shizune and Tsunade snorted, Tenten and Kin burst out laughing, and after a laugh of his own, Naruto high-fived Jiraiya. This, however, did not sit well with Orochimaru and particular members of his company, Guren and Yoroi stepping forward to their master's defense.

"Don't you dare talk about Lord Orochimaru like that!" Guren shouted, pointing at them. "You have no idea all the good he has done…"

"Absolutely _**no**_ subject matter on that statement supporting the bastard actually comes to mind," Tenten chuckled, nudging Kin in the arm. The girls snickered in agreement.

"As much as I would like to stand here and watch Oro-teme burst into tears," Naruto joked, readjusting his hat and lowering it over his face, at the same time, sharing a grin with the opposing forces. "I believe we have some unfinished business…"

"I agree," Jiraiya patted his student's shoulder, and straightened up. Adjusting the giant scroll worn around his waist, the old man fixated his best glare on his former teammate and company. "Never mind negotiations at this point in time. We have made it a hundred percent clear that we have _no_ intention of leaving this town without any intelligence on Orochimaru. Therefore, it is prudent that we either leave here with these rogue ninja in our custody or leave them here… _dead_…"

"You make it sound so easy, Jiraiya," Orochimaru smirked back, eyes flashing. "I knew Konohagakure would come searching for Tsunade sooner or later in order to back up their military forces. Not to mention fix up the damages I made to the village with her support. So, to hinder your village's plans, I opted to take her out of the equation… preferably permanently. However, since _you_ are all here, my plans must now be altered…" He threw his one good arm out and shouted out in defiance. "Do you think I would come out here unprepared? If you think I'm willing to surrender, you're sadly mistaken!"

Yoroi, Guren and Kisarabi moved in front of the Snake Sannin, with Naruto, Tenten and Kin stepping forward as well, assuming stances in preparation for the fight. Jiraiya also moved forward, with Tsunade rising to her feet with the help of her apprentice.

"We won't let you get away, Orochimaru!" Tsunade shouted. "Even if we have to destroy you!"

"Naruto… you take Yoroi… I'll take Kisarabi," Jiraiya whispered, placing his hand on the boy's shoulder. However, as soon as he did, Naruto yanked it out of his hand and stepped forward, earning a blink of surprise from his teacher.

"No… you can't fight her, not in your condition, Ero-Sennin," Naruto said back, glancing over his shoulder at the white haired man. "Unless you can move over three hundred meters per second, you're useless. She uses Western weapons and unorthodox methods of fighting; you won't be able to anticipate her movements like other ninja, and I doubt even you can defeat her. I have more experience in fighting her, so I will."

"Smart move…" Kisarabi exclaimed, stepping forward. Reaching into her holsters, she pulled out her duel Mauser C96's, twirled them in her grip and pointed them in his direction, cocking back on the sliders. "Let's see what you're made of… _kid_…"

Naruto responded with a smirk and took a stance, throwing both his arms out and flicking two kunai from his gauntlets into his grip.

Kisarabi wasted no time and opened fire, loud gunshots ringing out as she sent a hail of bullets towards the blonde kid. Jiraiya and everybody else leapt out of the way, while Naruto spun his kunai around him in a blur, blocking the first few shots before ducking low, and charging straight towards the bounty hunter. The woman unloaded on him entire clips, before swiftly reloading, and charging at him as well.

They met at the center, Kisarabi kicking out at the boy who flipped over her and landed behind her, swiping out at her with one of his kunai. The woman however, managed to land a solid kick across his face on a second spin, and sent him tumbling across the ground at the force of the blow. Kisarabi spun around and turned her guns on him, the blonde back-flipping to avoid the first shots which hit the ground. He lowered his head and flipped his hat to shield him as he crouched low behind it, heavy Parabellum rounds striking against the steel shield of his hat and effectively bouncing off.

Wasting no time in her reload, Naruto pulled out a cluster of smoke pellets and threw them into the ground, using it as cover for his escape. Kisarabi, upon seeing the smoke screen, furrowed her brow and pursued him through the smoke.

"There _they_ go…" Jiraiya exclaimed, watching Kisarabi and Naruto disappear, shaking his head. "They've really wanted to go at each other for some time…"

"Aren't you forgetting, Jiraiya… _we're_ still here," Orochimaru called over, capturing the group's attention again, and pulling all eyes back over to the Otogakure shinobi. The pale man smirked at the youngsters and old timers. "You and I have a score to untie. You see… _both_ of us are still alive. I'd prefer it if it was just _me_…"

Jiraiya snorted when the same idea popped into his head and he adjusted his vest. "You're right, old friend… about the first part anyway. Why don't we settle this? Just the two of us! One-on-one?"

"Sounds fair…" Orochimaru sneered.

"I'll take on the girls," Yoroi stated as he stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. "I've been holding back since the exams. It shouldn't take me too long to kill them…"

"They're all yours, Yoroi," Orochimaru chuckled, before glancing over at Guren again. "Tsunade will be your opponent, my dear. Make it an interesting bout…"

"It'll be my honor, Lord Orochimaru," the woman hissed, furrowing her brow and clenching her fists. "I'll bring her back to you in still breathing pieces."

Shizune leapt forward at that statement and pulled back her sleeve. Quickly clasping the ring and drawing a wire, the kunoichi unleashed a barrage of senbon from a concealed launcher, sending the acupuncture weapons flying towards the crowd. Yoroi leapt in front of them and blocked them all, before charging towards the apprentice, who also launched into attack.

Senbon in hand, she classed with the man's kunai as he plowed straight into her, sparks flying between them as their blades clashed. Gritting her teeth, Shizune cranked her arm back around and aimed another three senbon for the man's vital points in the neck when she hooked around at him. Yoroi, seeing the flash of danger, pulled his head back and dodged the strike just in time, sending a knee straight up into her stomach.

Staggering her, he then kicked her off of him, only to be left open to a barrage of shuriken that came out from behind the woman and at him. He leapt to the side just in time to avoid them, and barrel-rolled across the valley, before coming to a stop to see who had attacked him. To no surprise, Tenten and Kin also threw themselves into the battle, flanking Shizune as they ran the rogue medic ninja down.

Smirking, Yoroi met his attackers with a barrage of senbon to cover his retreat, as he quickly engaged the trio across the grasslands.

Guren immediately started off her assault, thrusting her palm into the ground and sending a wave of crystal spikes at the blonde Sannin standing beside Jiraiya. Both of them leapt out of the way of the gauntlet, as a result, splitting up in their effort to avoid being impaled. The moment Tsunade managed to escape the wave; she was immediately set upon by Guren, the woman flying through the air straight towards her with a purple, crystal spear.

She thrust the weapon straight towards the Sannin, who caught it between both hands. Following through, the crystal user attempted to impale the woman, regardless of having her attack blocked by her opponent's vice grip. However, Tsunade responded by throwing Guren straight past her, sending her ground-wards in their descent. Guren flipped through the air and landed on both feet, with the Sannin not to far behind. Spinning around, Guren lunged at Tsunade as she landed, and thrust a fist in her direction, starting off a new combo of attacks.

Tsunade fell back, dodging and blocking punches thrown her way, before being forced to duck a slash from the woman's arm gauntlet. Guren slashed at her with her arm blade, one after the other, before having it blocked by the Sannin's strong arm.

Grabbing the blade, Tsunade shattered it in her own grip, forcing Guren to leap back in a sound retreat. At the same time, the rogue shinobi used the opportunity presented to throw her crystal shuriken in the woman's direction, the Sannin ducking under them and charging in kind, fist brought back and ready to strike.

Forcing a single hand seal, Guren threw her right arm out, and a crystal shield shaped like a hexagon formed in front of her. When Tsunade's chakra enhanced fist connected with the barrier however, the crystal shield shattered, and the shockwave that followed sent both combatants flying back, the women skidding to a stop.

Jiraiya, having managed to evade getting hit by the last attack, turned his attention to Orochimaru, who was still smirking at him across the way. Biting down on his thumb of his free hand, the Snake Sannin formed a single hand seal before slamming his hand down into the ground.

"I may only have one arm, but that's all I need to defeat you, Jiraiya! _**Summoning Jutsu**_!" Orochimaru roared and a cloud of smoke exploded around him. Seconds later, an enclave of gigantic snakes rushed out from the wall of white smoke and charged the Toad Sannin down, towering over him like a series of skyscrapers.

The white haired hermit furrowed his brow at the sight, and quickly flashed through hand signs, before slapping both hands to the ground.

"_**Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld**_!" Jiraiya shouted, the earth literally liquidating underneath the giant snakes. Almost instantaneously, the giant summons began sinking into the mud, unable to get any traction, and effectively drowning as they sunk about halfway. The pressure was enough to trap them, and knock them out of the fight permanently.

"I'm not done yet!" Jiraiya shouted, forming several more hand seals, and breathing in deeply. "_Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique_!" Of course, when he breathed out, he expected a huge column of fire to follow. However, due to him being handicapped by the poison in his system, all that came out was a disk of fire the size of a football. The bolt of fire hooked through the air and straight for Orochimaru, and despite its shockingly small size, forced the Snake Sannin to dodge. When it hit the ground, it detonated like an exploding tag.

Furrowing his brow, Orochimaru charged at Jiraiya, who rushed him at the same time, both combatants taking their battle to the muddy soil encasing the now petrified snake summons. Hopping over one of the gargantuan corpses, Orochimaru landed in front of Jiraiya and kicked at him viciously, the old hermit blocking and ducking the strikes, before ducking under a roundhouse kick and ramming an elbow around his former teammate. The blow sent the Snake Sannin thumping into the snake corpse wall behind him, Jiraiya moving quickly to strike again.

Gritting his teeth, the hebi ducked a kunai strike and head butted Jiraiya, staggering the man and forcing him to drop his kunai. Orochimaru caught it and thrust it at the man, who managed to catch it between both hands just in time. Unfortunately for both of them, the amount of mud at their feet was inhibiting their movements.

"Ugh… I'm already seeing triple, I don't need this on top of that," Jiraiya growled, yanking on the kunai in his grip and pulling his opponent forward, kneeing him as hard as he could into the Sannin's stomach. Orochimaru choked out on saliva, before having a fist slammed across his face, which sent him falling into the muddy ground.

Staggering through the swampy conditions, Jiraiya growled and leapt at his opponent with another punch, only for Orochimaru to roll over in the mud and thrust his arm out at him. "_**Ninja Art: Shadow Snake Hands**_!" the Sannin roared, and over a dozen serpents rocketed out of the man's sleeve, striking Jiraiya and sending him straight up into one of the petrified snake's heads about twelve stories up. The old hermit disappeared when he was rammed straight into the snake and disappeared in a cloud of debris, dust and snake skin.

Orochimaru smirked momentarily, but blinked in shock when he suddenly saw a pillar of fire suddenly rocket down the cluster of snakes pinning Jiraiya to the wall, and faster then a jet on takeoff, careen towards him.

"_**Fire Release: Dragon Flame Bullet!" **_Jiraiya roared. The Snake Sannin just had a second to form a single hand sign of his own before the dragon-shaped gauntlet of fire struck him, and exploded with unmatched ferocity. A mushroom cloud was literally formed from the force of the blast and the amount of power was put behind it.

From behind the cloud of black smoke, Jiraiya managed to pull himself free of the man-shaped crater he formed in the side of the dead snake he was pinned to, and clamber up the side. When he reached the top, he shook his head clear of any blurs before staggering to his feet, and glared down towards the muddy ground below, which was still ablaze with fire.

At that moment, when he was beginning to think that his former teammate was toast, a giant snake made of mud suddenly shot out of the raging fire and rocketed towards Jiraiya, who leapt out of the way just as it struck the petrified summon he was standing on. Rolling to a stop, Jiraiya looked up to see the globs of mud take shape and form into Orochimaru, the Snake Sannin grinning sinisterly at his opponent. Jiraiya noted with a smirk that his technique had charred his friend a bit.

"You look as though you've seen better days, Orochimaru," the Toad Sannin chuckled.

"Don't mock me, _Jiraiya_. You are but a peon compared to me," the hebi replied. "All of your jutsu are useless in my shadow…"

"Says the man who lost his arm in battle against a girl," Jiraiya sighed, cracking his neck and stretching his muscles out. "Give me some credit would you; I'm fighting half-blind and chakra depleted here!"

"We're both on the same level… due to the fact that neither of us can fight at full capacity. Hm… I'll give you that!" Orochimaru sneered. "But I don't need my arms to destroy you! I am more then capable of defeating you and Tsunade, even with both my arms snatched away…"

"Don't underestimate me," Jiraiya took a more solid stance. "Once Naruto and his team are finished up with their opponents, the main event will begin…"

"Ah… Naruto-kun," Orochimaru glanced off over the hills, where he could see explosions and an onslaught of clones battling against Kisarabi. "What a promising candidate for my experiments, I can see him becoming a powerful shinobi some day. You know, I've always had a keen eye for good stock. Genin with great potential, such as Sasuke-kun… and Neji-kun also… ahh… the philosophical implications are tremendous!" The Snake Sannin then glared back over at his former teammate. "You have no idea what I have planned for Konohagakure…"

"Your invasion failed. Your armies didn't even manage to cross the borders far enough to cause any significant damage. There's no way you can take down Konohagakure now, not in your condition. Even against three other shinobi nations and a tailed beast, despite all of the damage the village has suffered in terms of its forces and structure, Konoha is still standing," Jiraiya smirked. "What can you possibly hope to accomplish with over half of your army decimated. It's more then likely that Otogakure will be annihilated before you even get a chance to strike again. If you manage to survive today of course…"

Orochimaru snickered, earning a raised eyebrow from Jiraiya. "You don't get it at all. _Otogakure_, comrades, subordinates, I foresee none of them in my grand scheme. They are all just expendable assets, an utter sham, a front for my true plans. They are but pawns compared to the pieces I'm creating to take on the roles as my knights," Orochimaru ran his hand through his hair, before resting his fingertips around his eye. "Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, Neji-kun, Sakura-chan, they are just a single part of my vision for the future…"

"What exactly are you planning," Jiraiya growled.

"I doubt you'll live long enough for me to even bother telling you," Orochimaru hissed, eyes widening and flashing. "After all, the pieces I have here and now will destroy you all. Kisarabi alone is a match for me!"

"Heh, well then it's a good thing Naruto is fighting her," the Toad hermit chuckled. "Because, as it turns out, he and Kisarabi are old friends of the same roots…"

* * *

_**Naruto and Kisarabi battle…**_

Unfortunately for the blonde, the battle's start wasn't going how he had hoped for it to go. At first he was able to go toe to toe with the woman, confident he could defeat her. But as it turns out, the white haired woman was proving to be more then capable of fighting him.

Twirling her pistols between her fingers, the woman opened up with a vicious volley of Mauser fire, the bullets ripping through the air in pursuit of their target. The boy dashed in a zigzag pattern in his efforts to avoid being hit, literally feeling lead rounds zip past his head, and others hitting the ground where he was milliseconds previously. The woman huffed as she reloaded her weapons in the blink of an eye, quickly holstering one pistol and, choosing to go right handed, began firing semi-automatic shots at her swiftly approaching opponent.

Naruto dashed left and right, the rounds from the woman exploding around him like a hail storm, before he ducked right into her defensive range, thrusting his hidden blade out at her. Kisarabi smirked and caught his arm, twisting it, and effortlessly throwing the young Jonin over her shoulder. The blonde slammed into the ground and let out a shout of agony, the bounty hunter immediately slamming her foot down onto his chest and pointing her gun straight for his head.

However, the young Jonin was able to slip right from under her, throwing his legs up and wrapping them around hers, tossing her over with a vicious twist. The woman back-flipped away as soon as she fell, avoiding a spin kick thrown by Naruto as he acrobatically leapt back to his feet. She managed to put distance between herself and the ninja, stopping, and smiling as she watched him stagger back into a fighting stance, throwing his arms out and drawing both his hidden blades into view.

Cocking on the slider, she pointed her gun in his direction.

"You've improved, Nightwalker-kun," Kisarabi exclaimed, tipping her hat at him as he glared back. "However, you've got a long way to go before you can actually go toe-to-toe with me."

"I'd say you're underestimating me a bit, Kisarabi-chan," Naruto smirked. "You're making the same mistake Kabuto did…"

"That reminds me, I still owe you that drink," the woman smiled, readjusting her grip on her handgun a little. "Heh… but that can wait, till after I've beaten you…"

"Give it your best shot," Naruto exclaimed. "I've been training for years to fight you, and out of every single ninja on this continent, I am the only one who is capable of, if not allowed, to beat you."

"Oh yes…" the bounty hunter smiled, looking down a little. "Our promise… how can I forget…?"

Naruto grunted and thrust his left hand forward, throwing a kunai at high velocity in the woman's direction, a string of wire attached to it. Kisarabi fired a shot, only to have her hand knocked upwards, by the colliding weapon, which coiled around her arm and tugged her forward. The blonde charged at her, ducking the next shot before swiftly sliding between her spread legs. Pulling the wire along with him, he literally flipped the woman over, but she regained her footing with ease and spun around, sending a roundhouse kick at him and slamming him across the face, sending him into the ground.

Before he hit the ground, he threw another kunai at her, the next shot she fired hitting the kunai head long and knocking it away. He assumed a crouched position and thrust his right hand outward, an arrow sliding into place in his gauntlet, while the woman pointed her pistol down towards him.

For a moment the two remained the way, glaring at each other.

It was after that moment passed Naruto smiled.

"_She never changes…"_

_

* * *

_

_**Nine Years Ago…**_

_Naruto was wandering the streets of some distant village to the Far East of the Land of Fire, smiling in his ventures while accompanied by a rather unlikely friend. The four year old, since his runaway from the village, had explored the lands surrounding Konohagakure aimlessly for quite a while, eating whatever he could scrounge, and begging whenever possible._

_It was hard going for him, being alone and in places that were completely unfamiliar to him. However, after months of being on his own and surviving as best as he could, he unbelievably enough, ran into a young girl from Takigakure, a person who was remarkably…_

…'_like him'…_

_The girl was named Fu, and together, the two four year old jinchurikis bonded, and for the better part of both their lives, took it to exploring the surrounding towns and villages, moving like ghosts from place to place, and spending time together. Because of their shared history and experiences, the two of them understood each other well, and as per their agreement, they worked together to survive._

_Amidst the bustling crowds of beige and normal, Naruto and Fur sort of stuck out. While the blonde wore a ragged white shirt, tatter shorts and sandals, and was looking like he needed a shower, Fu also wore a white singlet and dark green shorts with a matching pair of sandals. They definitely looked like street urchins, and lived that way to._

_Undertaking another of their many risks for the day, the scheming pair running down the streets, decided to try something a bit more subtle in order to acquire some food. In order to do that, they had to pick-pocket._

_Choosing their targets at random, the pair made sure to blend in with the crowds before making a move, swiping whatever they could grab from back and side pockets as they moved on. After making their way through the market place, the two of them emerged on the other side with a handful of ryu and some other surprising items._

_The two hid in an alley and grinned as they piled together their stash._

"_Jackpot!" Naruto exclaimed happily._

"_That's even more then what we got yesterday! This is great!" Fu giggled._

_Splitting it between them, they stashed it away into their pouches and smiled at each other._

"_What should we do now?" Naruto asked._

"_I say one more round… then we can go home!"_

"_Sounds cool… come on…"_

_That was exactly what they did. The swift little pair plowed through the streets, passing one person at a time, and randomly swiping the pockets of people who were turning a blind eye. Fu even managed to grab an apple from a stand, before disappearing into the crowds, as if she was never there. Eventually, the pair reached the end of the road, but not before Naruto tried his hand at a rather shady looking individual just strolling down the road, cigarette in her mouth and eyes averted elsewhere._

_Sneaky as his routine called for it, Naruto attempted to make a grab for her back jacket pocket, only to be startled when the woman suddenly grabbed his hand and turned towards him. The blonde attempted to pull free, only to be petrified with shock when he stared up into the woman's face._

_The dark purple trench coat she had wrapped tightly around her with nothing else underneath, dazzling white hair, flawless skin, eye patch worn proudly over her right eye, and wide-brimmed Stetson hat shielding her face with shadow, was a sight he had never seen before. Furthermore, a pink eye glared down at him, flashing dangerously in the light._

_After staring into each other for several seconds, the white haired woman smirked at him and looked him over._

"_That's called stealing you know," the stranger exclaimed, releasing him and turning to face the boy. Tipping her hat, she knelt down in front of him and began looking over his face more thoroughly. She saw that he was young, and from his outlook, had seen better days. "You should know better then that, kid…"_

"_S-Sorry, Miss," Naruto replied as he ducked his head, clenched his hands at his sides nervously, and looked down at the ground in shame. Even though she had no intention of causing him any harm, he was still terrified and awe struck by the woman. "I promise I won't do it again."_

"_What are you apologizing for? You're homeless right? Living rough?" The woman chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. "Okay then, since that's the case; what you really need to promise me is to __**not**__ let yourself get caught next time, you hear?"_

_Naruto looked back up at her in shock, earning a sly grin from her. "Kids like you need to survive any way they can, especially in these parts." She shrugged her shoulders. "You're young, and it looks as though you're still adjusting to your new life. So here's a helpful hint for you; __**don't let life get you down, don't get pushed around, and save every penny**__. Alright…"_

"_R-Right…"_

"_Money, aside from every other aspect in life, is an important piece in this world…" She held up a ryu coin and literally spun it like a basketball on her fingertip. It flashed in the boy's widened eyes for a moment, before the woman picked up his hand and placed the coin in it, and enclosed his fingers around it. "Save everything you have, and don't waste it on meaningless things; they are just trash. Take in what you earn everyday, and that way, you will have something to use in the future when in need."_

_Rising to her feet, Kisarabi smiled and tipped her hat to him again, the boy watching her stand with awe reflected in his eyes. In spite of being fear struck by her glare, he had to admit she was one of the most angelic creatures he had ever laid eyes on. He blushed at the sight of her smile._

"_And if I catch you trying to pickpocket me again, I'll break your arm, understand?"_

_Naruto nodded dumbly, before watching the woman walk off, whistling away before disappearing into the crowd._

_Sighing, the blonde looked down at the ryu in his hand, but was rather perplexed when he saw that it wasn't. In fact, on closer inspection, ihe saw that t was a pure gold coin of extreme value. It was a sight that had him gaze in astonishment._

_Blinking, he looked up wildly, trying to find the woman to thank her._

_However, she was nowhere to be seen…_

_

* * *

_

_**Present day…**_

"She never changes…" Naruto chuckled.

Kisarabi smirked. "Reminiscing?"

"Sort of…"

After a short laugh, Kisarabi shot at the blonde without a moment's notice, only for him to dodge right and lunge at her with his arrow. Kisarabi spun around him when he lunged, and he did to, the two performing a ballet of dodges and spins around each other, with the bounty hunter attempting to hit the blonde with her rounds, firing one shot after the other.

One bullet eventually grazed Naruto across the cheek, before he slammed a back-handed fist across the woman's face, knocking her staggering backwards in surprise. As soon as she did so, the bounty hunter began falling back, firing one shot after another towards the blonde, who managed to pull out a kunai on a quick draw, and began blocking the bullets flying his direction. His kunai laced with wind chakra sliced through every single lead round that flew at him, and within seconds, had managed to cut clean through all thirty-two bullets. As soon as her handgun clicked on empty, he charged at her, kunai held back and ready to strike.

Before he reached her, he fired off the arrow from his sleeve, which shot at her at a high velocity, only to be caught by the woman's swift, firm hand. Twirling it in between her fingers, she loaded it onto her own wrist launcher, cocked it back, and fired at the boy, hitting him in the shoulder.

Unhindered by the arrow as it lodged deep into his shoulder, Naruto leapt at the woman and roundhouse kicked her through the air. Kisarabi ducked under his kick and rolled across the ground, leaping back to her feet and spinning around to watch as the boy landed several meters away, and round back on her a second later.

Throwing his right arm out, he aimed his gauntlet at her, and fired a kunai at her from his launcher, which went off with a loud bang. The knife sliced through the air and smacked her in her own shoulder, causing her to stagger back at the unexpected attack.

Smirking, Kisarabi held her own right hand out in front of her, and twisted a knob on her gauntlet under her coat's sleeve. At that moment, her hands suddenly became cuffed by brass knuckles, or what looked like brass knuckles. The weapons crackled with lightning, and after stretching her fingers a bit, held her hand above her, before slamming it into the ground.

"_**Lightning Storm!"**_ the woman shouted, the electricity from her gauntlet suddenly exploding with sheer ferocity, and sliced into the ground. A second later, a jet of electricity began traveling through the ground, and charged straight towards Naruto.

The blonde leapt to the side to avoid it, and looked back over his shoulder as the stream of the electricity overshot him. However, it eventually turned around, and began pursuing him. He himself exploded into movement and began sprinting away, keeping a safe distance ahead of the stream of lightning coursing after him through the ground. As it began to gain ground on him, he leapt from side to side, avoiding its every lunge at his feet.

He knew that if it touched him, it would cost him dearly.

Crossing both arms over her face, Kisarabi threw them out, unleashing a wave of lightning from her lightning gauntlets, the wave tearing up the ground as it charged towards the boy. Naruto spotting the new threat fast approaching and easily gaining ground, spun around and leapt backwards through the air, forming a single hand seal.

"_Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"_ he shouted, touching down briefly and leaping away, a wall of white smoke exploding in front of him, before disappearing shortly afterwards, and revealing a wall of clones standing in between him and the lightning storm.

The wall of electricity struck his wall of clones, causing them all to dispel at once in a huge explosion of debris, dust, smoke and lightning. Kisarabi watched on from afar with a smirk, impressed by how much the boy had improved. However, just as she was beginning to compliment on his skills, she suddenly saw the clouds part, and her opponent come flying through the air straight for her. Roaring at the top of his lung, he cranked his fist back, and then slammed it across her face in the blink of an eye, sending her careening through the air.

Bouncing off of the ground a couple of times, the woman eventually managed to regain her bearings and land on her feet. Sliding across the ground on all fours, she stopped her backward momentum and rose to her feet, a trickle of blood running down from her lip.

"You call that a punch?" Kisarabi chuckled, wiping the blood from her lip and looking upon the panting form of Naruto. She then looked down at the stain on her hand, rubbing the fluid between her fingers. "Although, I have to admit… you're the first person in over ten years to land a genuine blow on me…"

"I haven't even started yet," Naruto smirked, slapping his hands together into a hand seal. "Come on…"

"Very well then…" Bringing her right gauntlet around, she dialed in another combination of buttons. "Let's see if you can hit me again…" She then threw her arm out, summoning a spiked chain with a kunai at the end from her gauntlet, which fell out from under her sleeve and unraveled itself onto the ground. With a laugh, she swung the weapon around her, with the kunai attached to the end as company. A second later, the weapon whipped through the air towards the blonde Jonin, who barrel-rolled out of the way as the chain literally split the earth where he once stood.

Shaken up a little, Naruto flipped back onto his feet, ducking a swipe from the chained weapon, before back-flipping away when it came back around and struck the ground in front of him. He quickly retreated from the flailing chained weapon, Kisarabi extending it foot by foot to match the distance he was covering to get away from her. The eventual length reached a staggering sixty meters a minute later, and the bounty hunter was still attacking.

Naruto leapt over a large boulder in the middle of the valley and took cover behind it, panting from his sprint to get away from the woman, who even up to this point hadn't even broken a sweat.

"_Boy… she's just as bad-ass as ever,"_ Naruto thought in amusement, sucking in air feverishly before looking skywards, smirking. _"She was always calm and cool… no matter what the situation…"_

_

* * *

_

_**Seven and a half years ago…**_

"… _so when you suddenly find yourself trapped inside a genjutsu, make sure you stop your chakra flow completely. Not just halt it, hold on to it, or reduce its ascent pattern in combat: __**stop**__ it. That way, you won't suddenly find yourself jumping off of a cliff or getting attacked in real life. You'll know when you've broken the illusion, since it feels like you're slapped in the face or waking up from a bad dream," Jiraiya explained to Naruto as they sat side-by-side on the ferry crossing over into the Land of Water. Naruto, legs hanging over the side, was listening intently, since his training had moved off onto a completely new tangent outside of the basics._

_He was excelling so far, Jiraiya was trying to find every little thing he could occupy the boy's time with that he didn't complete within the week._

"_If that fails, then there's always the good old cut, stab or hurting-yourself tactic," Jiraiya said, pinching his young student in the arm and earning a yelp from him._

"_Ow! Ero-Sennin!"_

"_I'm being serious, Naruto," the man smirked. "I taught you this already; it's the simplest way of getting out of a genjutsu. However, if your arms and legs find themselves bound in the illusion, bite yourself in the lower lip and draw blood. Hurts like hell, but it will definitely do the job…"_

_The sound of the ferry's horn announced the journey's end, and as it was pulling up to the dock, the passengers began rising to their feet and making their way over to the ramps. Jiraiya sighed and stretched out as he stood, picking up his scroll on his way up._

"_Well, we're here. Come on you little trouble-maker," the hermit exclaimed, leading the way off, with Naruto hopping off of his seat. "After I've taught you how to use my transparency technique, I'll stop all of this Ero-Sennin and Pervy Sage crap; it's really starting to get on my nerves…"_

"_But you are a pervert, Pervy Sage. I call them like I see them!" the boy grinned._

"_Ha-ha! Come on, kid…"_

_Just as Jiraiya was heading up to the forward ramp, Naruto suddenly became distracted when he spotted a sleeping figure several seats down. Since they were all on the outer-deck in broad daylight and occupying the seats, it was relatively quiet out, unlike the cabins inside. Even though the horn should have been sufficient enough to wake any snoozing passengers, it struck Naruto funny that this woman was still dozing._

_Worried that she would be stuck on board when the boat got moving again, he quickly jogged over to the woman before following after his teacher off of the boat._

_He shook the snoozing stranger by the leg, gently at first._

"_Excuse me miss. Miss? Uhh… w-we're here," Naruto whispered, trying to look underneath the shadows of her wide-brimmed hat to see if she was awake. "Sleeping lady… sleeping lady!"_

"_Unless you're here to give me a back-rub, get lost," the woman mumbled, turning over a little, while at the same time trying to shoo off a metaphorical fly. Naruto ignored her and, in spite of the grumpiness in her voice, this time shook her a little bit harder. "I said buzz off…"_

"_But miss…"_

"_Look kid… I…" Kisarabi turned over and lifted her hat, glaring at the boy who was shoving her. She blinked in surprise when she realized who it was, with Naruto also blinking when he suddenly recognized who it was he was disturbing. "Oh… it's you…"_

"_I WASN'T PICK-POCKETING YOU! I SWEAR!" Naruto shouted, hands in the air and showing them to be empty. "See! Nothing!"_

"_Keep your voice down, geez," Kisarabi groaned, rubbing the inside of her ear. "There's a big difference between somebody trying to wake you, and somebody trying to rob you while you are asleep. I'd know for sure. If you were __**actually**__ robbing me, I'd do this…" In the blink of an eye, she grabbed the boy's wrist and yanked her towards her, swiftly drawing the lever-action shotgun off of her back, loading it with a quick spin-load action, and shoved it into his forehead. The startled boy stared wide-eyed at her as she smirked at him in kind. "Go on… __**laugh**__! I dare yah…"_

"_Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-heh…" Naruto feigned, while trying not to avert his gaze from the woman in front of him._

"_I'm just joking kid, relax," Kisarabi exclaimed, patting him on the shoulder, and holstering the weapon onto her back. "Although, I have to say, you didn't piss your pants like ordinary people, when they're literally face to face with me. What's your angle?"_

"_I just… wasn't that scared…" the blonde shrugged. The woman smiled and propped her head on her hand and elbow on her leg, looking the boy over._

"_Really? Well then, you're one tough nut to crack. That's scary in a different way," Kisarabi commented. "How have you been kid…? I haven't seen you in… what… seven… eight months?"_

"_Eighteen months, miss," Naruto stated. The woman whistled._

"_Wow, and you're still alive. Impressive." Really, she was. The woman knew a lot of people who lived around the ninja villages who didn't last outside of a year. Those old 'friends' were now dead and buried. "So… what's going on now?"_

"_I'm here with Ero-Sennin for some training! I'm going to become a ninja?"_

"_Oh. Well then, that's a real shame," Kisarabi said, shaking her head, while earning a surprised look from the blonde. Pulling out a cigarette from her trench coat pocket and lighting a match that she pulled out from behind her ear and lit against her cheek, took a deep, long drag on her death stick, before exhaling in exasperation._

"_Why is it a shame, miss?"_

"_Because… I'm a bounty hunter," Kisarabi replied, smiling up at the boy, while tipping her wide-brimmed hat a little. "That means I hunt down thugs, mercenaries, high-ranked criminals, drug dealers, politicians, soldiers, and… if situations call for it, ninjas. I'm actually a lot like a ninja, except for the fact that I am free reign. I don't discriminate between countries, races, sexes or religion, I play by my own rules and, above all else, I work for the highest bidder. Being a bounty hunter, I only work for money…"_

"_Uhh… okay…"_

_For a minute or so, the woman sat where she was, breathing on her cigarette smoke, while staring at the boy, who stared curiously back at her. By this point in time, people on the ferry started to depart, basically leaving the two of them time to catch up on… or better yet… get to know each other little by little._

"_You've grown a bit… that's good to see," Kisarabi smiled. "Hmm… you're actually pretty cute when you're not covered in dirt and street crap." Naruto blushed at her comment and rubbed the back of his head bashfully._

"_T-Thanks…"_

"_Heh… you don't have to be a looker to be a ninja, but in case of espionage… I guess it counts for one area," Kisarabi sighed, rising to her feet as well and stretching out. "However, if you're going to be a ninja, I recommend that you wear a mask or something… you know… to conceal your identity so that you won't get into trouble if you screw up…"_

_She smirked at him and leant over, poking him in the nose, and earning an 'eep' from the boy. "Get a mask. You don't want to ruin that handsome face of yours…" Straightening up, Kisarabi gathered up whatever belongings she did have, and vacated the ship, with Naruto watching her walk off in awe._

"_See yah, kid…"_

_

* * *

_

_**Present day…**_

"Shit!" Naruto ducked as soon as the chained weapon of Kisarabi's suddenly sliced through the rock, effortlessly cleaving it into two. Ducking behind the bottom slab that was left, he quickly knelt back up and threw a kunai in the woman's direction, laced with a smoke bomb. The woman easily swiped it away with her chained weapon, causing it to detonate into a red cloud of spicy powder.

The smoke cloud literally formed the shape of a dragon head as the _**Red Dragon**_ engulfed her. However, instead of having a complete effect on her, the woman clenched her eyes shut and held her breath, deciding to base the rest of the fight from within the smoke cloud, on her other remaining senses.

"Not bad…"

Just then, the smoke cloud parted sharply and Naruto came charging through at the Yellow Flash's speed, teeth gritted and fists clenched. In his left hand, he held a tanto blade, which flashed in the sun and was readied to strike.

As soon as he lunged with the blade, Kisarabi caught his wrist in mid-flight and twisted it, so that she had his arm pinned behind him. Grinning, she grabbed his right shoulder with her left hand, and activated her gauntlet, electricity suddenly beginning to course through the blonde's body from the point of contact.

Naruto wailed out in agony as he was electrified with over a hundred thousand volts. The shockwaves bolted over him one after the other, literally bringing him to his knees before the woman eventually released him. His roasted carcass was smoking by the time he fell flat on his face.

Kisarabi didn't even flinch when his body exploded into a puff of white smoke, indicating that it was a copy she had managed to take down.

Withdrawing her chained weapon back into her gauntlet, the woman looked around her to see if the boy was attempting a sneak attack on her. Unable to find him, she became a little bit suspicious, and decided to listen to her feet.

A second too late, hands suddenly shot up from the ground beneath her, and she looked down in surprise. All of a sudden, five Naruto copies burst out of the ground around her, each of them flying in her direction and landing single attacks, punches and kicks. The blows knocked her about.

"U-ZU-MA-KI!" Each clone shouted as each of their attacks landed, Kisarabi being smashed around like a punching bag. A second later, the real Naruto dropped from the sky above, spinning in his descent before throwing a kick straight down, striking the woman in the head and knocking her face first into the earth. "NARUTO BARRAGE!"

The white haired bounty hunter spat up blood when she hit the ground and glared up, spotting the real Naruto land some distance from her. As soon as his feet touched the valley floor, the woman smiled and slapped her left hand into the ground. All of a sudden, a projectile weapon unexpectedly popped up from under her sleeve, and a split second after it clicked into view, a rocket shot out from the barrel and towards the blonde.

Naruto didn't have much time to react when he was hit full on by the projectile and it detonated, second him whipping through the air before hitting a boulder some distance away. Kisarabi stood up when the hands finally relinquished her as they vanished in a puff of white smoke, with the woman also readjusting her hat.

"I have to admit… he's gotten stronger…" The woman then blinked when she heard a footstep behind her, and ducked just in time to avoid a hidden-blade swing, as Naruto suddenly appeared behind her in mid-air.

He faded out as soon as the woman ducked and attempted to knee him when she straightened up, only to hit thin air. Detecting movement, she spun and roundhouse kicked the air, only to hit a faded image of Naruto again when he once again vanished from sight. Taking a stance, the woman smiled as she looked around her, attempting to sought out the young Jonin as he began running rings around her position, while using his _Chameleon Technique_.

"This old trick? Please…" Kisarabi chuckled. Reaching up, she grabbed the eye-patch covering her mystery, secret weapon. _"I should start taking this kid a bit more seriously…"_ She ripped the black covering of her eye and opened it, revealing an iris with two pupils spinning side by side in the center, and a small tattoo painted underneath the socket. _"Kami; Grant my fingers the strength to crush evil!"_

The moment her new eye flashed into view, she spun around at a much faster speed when she detected a presence, and hooked a punch out at an invisible target. She got a satisfied grunt when her fist connected with something solid, and Naruto suddenly faded into view, his body bouncing across the ground before stopping about thirty meters away. The blow was enough to knock him out flat.

Stretching her fingers, Kisarabi strolled over towards the boy, stopping just short of his body and nudging him with her foot.

"Hey… kid… up and at em'… I won…"

Unexpectedly, the body burst into a puff of white smoke, revealing a log with a fist imprint in its side. The woman was startled, stepping back.

"_How… I swear my Shintaigo…?"_

"_**Leaf Hidden Secret Technique…**_!" A voice shouted from behind her, and the woman's eyes widened in horror as she sun around. In the second that passed her, the bounty hunter could only turn briefly, as she watched the boy approach her, his hands formed to resemble the Tiger Hand Seal, and a lecherous grin on his face.

It all happened so fast.

"Oh no!" Kisarabi murmured.

"_**ONE THOUSAND YEARS OF DEATH**_!" Naruto roared, thrusting his fingers straight up the middle of her firm behind. There was absolutely nothing to cushion the blow as the woman was launched at a high velocity off of the ground, clutching her buttocks as she soared skyward, tearing at the eyes. She practically wailed out in agony as she was catapulted by the rear-ended attack.

She flew about fifty meters before crashing to the ground face first, butt sticking in the air, and eyes swirling. Naruto grinned victoriously as he observed the results of the attack.

"Bulls-eye…"

* * *

_**Five Years Ago…**_

"_Shall I slice his other leg off, then?" Kisame exclaimed, grinning over at his stoic partner, Itachi Uchiha, as they watched Naruto attempt to crawl away, leaving his severed leg lying lifeless several meters away, and trailing blood in his attempted escape. "He can still move around even without them… that could be a problem for us when moving him. Maybe I should cut off his arms as well?"_

_The blonde had taken a beating. Despite his young age and feeble skills in comparison to Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, he had managed to hold his own for a solid two minutes, before the pair decided play time was over. The moment he was locked in a genjutsu, the fish-faced swordsman proceeded to slice off his limbs in his restraint. The pain alone was enough to drive the terrified boy out of the illusion._

_Now reduced to groveling in the dirt, the young ninja tried to crawl away from the two Akatsuki members, only to get about ten meters away before Kisame placed his foot on his back, pinning him to the ground._

"_Stay still, Kyuubi brat," Kisame sneered._

"_Don't treat him so harshly, Kisame," Itachi spoke, his voice cold and void of emotion as he stared down at the flailing boy, who was growling and crying out in agony from the wounds he has sustained thus far. However, being so far out in the middle of the forest outside of the nearest village, his cries reached no ears. "He may be a jinchuriki, but show some restraint against children…"_

"_Hmph. Then where's the fun in hunting?" Kisame queried, propping his sword onto his shoulder and removing his foot off of Naruto, but not before kicking him onto his back so that the wounded child was facing them. "With that hair and fierce expression, he would make a great piece up on our mantel…"_

"_F-Fuck you…" Naruto hissed, glaring up at the blue skinned man, blood pouring from his mouth. The pain he was feeling at the moment was unbearable. "F-Fish faced… __**FREAK**__!"_

"_Oh… not so friendly after all," the swordsman laughed, swinging his sword around and pointing it directly over the boy's mouth. "Maybe I should cut out your tongue, so we don't have to hear that potty mouth of yours, brat? How does that sound?"_

"_I can still spit on you!" Naruto hocked a loogie right into the man's face. Despite lying seven feet below the man's face, yet still sitting at the right angle, the jinchuriki, shockingly enough managed to land a hit right in the swordsman's eye. Kisame, pretty much used to spilling all kinds of bodily innards and getting plenty on him, including blood and guts, still flinched when he was hit by the unexpected attack, and frowned deeply._

_Regardless, he casually wiped the mucus away with the back of his hand, before glaring down at the kid once more._

"_That's going to cost you a hand," the rogue ninja growled, bringing his sword around, before swiftly slicing off the boy's left arm below the elbow. It was so swift and precise, that Naruto reacted about seven seconds later, and began wailing out in agony, clutching his stump of an arm. The remainder of his limb flopped down on the ground several feet away, twitching, and spurting out blood._

_Kisame smirked as he watched the boy roll around at his feet. "There… that's much better…"_

_Before he could carry on anymore, he felt a hand rest on his shoulder, and glanced back to see Itachi glaring up at him._

"_Enough…" the Uchiha whispered, furrowing his brow. "We can take him from here…"_

"_Tsk… very well then," Kisame replied, sheathing his sword. "This was a relatively boring assignment anyway. Perhaps the next jinchuriki will be a bigger challenge…"_

_Before the swordsman could pick up the boy however, there was a loud bang, and out of nowhere, Kisame was hit full on in the chest by something hard, fast and small. A jet of blood shot out from his wound, and the man coughed up blood before staggering back at the force of the unexpected attack. Caught off guard, both Akatsuki members suddenly leapt away as more shots rang out, puncturing Itachi in his right shoulder, and the trees surrounding them._

_Seconds later, after being forced about ten meters from their jinchuriki target; a shadow dropped down from the treetops and landed at the blonde's defense. Naruto was momentarily dumbfounded that somebody had managed to find him, let alone come to his rescue. However, it wasn't long till he saw who it was that came to his aid, and blinked in astonishment as he watched the familiar, white haired woman rise to her feet in front of him._

_She was wielding a rifle, a weapon the boy had rarely seen, but had witnessed the damage it was capable of. He could only blink in awe as he gawked at the angel standing before him and his attackers._

"_You'll come no further," Kisarabi shouted, as she glared down the sights of her weapon through her right eye; the two pupils of her Shintaigo spinning around the center and her fingers adjusting around the grip._

"_A good Samaritan?" Itachi murmured._

"_And not just any," Kisame growled through blood leaking out of his mouth, while he clenched his chest. "It's that bounty hunter… the bitch Kisarabi!"_

"_Pleased to make your acquaintance Kisame Hoshigaki… Itachi Uchiha…" Kisarabi exclaimed, smirking at them. "If you please… I'll be taking your bodies back with me now. Your heads are worth a __**lot**__ of ryo…"_

_The two Akatsuki members glanced at one another, before turning back to the woman._

"_I believe that the odds are stacked in our favor here, bounty hunter," Itachi said, stepping forward. "You can't possibly hope to defeat the two of us…"_

_Kisarabi smirked. "I know that I've probably got a couple of screws loose fighting you two at the same time. If I was to fight you one on one, then I might just stand a chance…" She then glanced briefly behind her, to see Naruto still staring up at her in surprise. "But… to protect this boy… I'd gladly give my life against a hundred of you…"_

_She winked at him. "Jiraiya and Tsunade are on there way kid… don't worry," she whispered._

_All Naruto could do was nod dumbly, before Kisarabi turned back to the two criminals and smirked at them._

"_Well?"_

_Itachi sighed and drew a kunai, holding it out in front of him, while Kisame brought his sword around and slammed it into the ground, cracking the earth. In response to their visual threats and signs of action, Kisarabi cocked her weapon and grinned._

_Though she knew she wouldn't be able to win, she was certainly going to give it her best shot._

"_This might be entertaining…!"_

_

* * *

_

_**Present day…**_

Just as Naruto was believed his opponent to be down and out for the count, he suddenly saw her slowly stagger to her feet. Regaining her sense of balance once again, the woman then glared behind her with a deep blush on her face and a rather disapproving frown. Her eyes more or less reflected her embarrassment.

"I didn't know you were in to that kind of stuff, _Nightwalker-kun,"_ Kisarabi exclaimed rather seductively. This threw Naruto off briefly, and he blushed too.

"Pay-back for trashing my house!" Naruto pointed at her accusingly, earning a laugh from her as she readjusted her belt.

"I'll let it slide then." Tilting her hat, she turned to him and grinned. "Even though you managed to lay one over me, I'm still going to win."

"Bring it!" Naruto crouched low and leapt forward, bringing his hands in front of him to form a hand seal. "_Shadow Clone Jutsu_!"

Kisarabi could only smirk as an army of copies suddenly began to swarm her on all sides. Reaching for her side arms, she drew them cowboy style and began firing off rounds one after the other at her oncoming attackers. Spinning on her axis point, she took down one Naruto after the other, going so far as to even let them get into close quarters with her. She took her time in inflicting as many stylish attacks as possible, making this fight seem more like a performance then an actual battle.

Laughing at the top of her lungs, she leapt into the air and spun a kick in a 360 degree of motion, knocking out ten clones at once, before landing on the ground. She crouched at the conclusion of her kick, and smirked up towards the real Naruto, who stood some ways away from her.

Spinning her pistols as she rose to her feet, she blew on the ends of the barrels before holstering them.

"Give me your best shot… _kid_…" She threw both her arms out. "I'm ready…"

Naruto grinned and charged at her, this time breaking out into a full blown sprint. His body carried him towards the woman over the long distance in no time flat, and once he reached her, he punched her full on in the stomach.

The blow barely even fazed the woman, and she effortlessly back-handed him across the face, knocking him staggering. However, in spite of the killer blow, she didn't knock him over.

Shaking his head, and spitting out blood, Naruto turned back to his opponent and grinned. The woman smirked back at him.

"You bruised me, kid," Kisarabi chuckled. "More then once in my life…"

* * *

_**Two Years Ago…**_

"_We have got to stop meeting like this…" the bounty hunter chuckled, sitting on top of a pile of at least thirty dead bodies, with Naruto sitting across from her on his own pile of fifteen. The band of rogue shinobi had proven to be quite troublesome, but in face of two of the most prominent hunters in all the known lands, they stood little chance against them._

_Twirling her pistol in her hand, the woman sat where she was casually, not at all bothered by the fact that she was covered in blood._

"_You're getting stronger every day, brat. Every time I run into you, you've always got a new trick up your sleeve and a knot you're just itching to untie on your targets.," Kisarabi chuckled, watching as her partner and rival twirled a kunai between his own fingers, before hopping off of the pile of bodies, his pale, soulless mask hiding his face. "I swear, one of these days, you're gonna be stronger then me… that's a pretty scary thought…"_

"_The old generation always has to make way for the next one," Naruto, under the guise of the Nightwalker, spoke in that cold, emotionless voice of his 'other side'. The tone didn't at all shake up the woman, but only caused her to smile. "It's only natural that my age bracket will destroy yours, Kisarabi-chan…"_

"_I see growing up is taking its toll," the woman replied. "You're learning the hard way, what the real world is actually like. There are no fairytales, no single loves, no heroes, no compassion, no rewards of God… it's all just a big fucking game. Life will eat you up and spit you out, just like what it did to me, and probably every adult you know."_

"_But there's a fine line between being utterly consumed and crossing the threshold, isn't there?" Naruto asked, his cloak waving in the wind as he glared at the woman from behind the shadows of his mask._

"_Quite right you are," Kisarabi chuckled, patting the head of one of her dead victims she was sitting on. "Hate is a part of life, as is love. When consumed by something… such as hate, you feel great pain, and will do everything humanly possible to get rid of it. However… when you cross the line… and believe me… you'll know when you cross it… all you will ever feel… is __**nothing**__." It was this word that had Naruto flinch as he stood in front of the woman, staring at her as she smiled down at him. "It is the most terrible feeling you'll ever experience in your life. You would feel neither joy, nor sadness, nor love... nor sorrow. Heck, you won't even feel hate… that emotion is completely stripped from you."_

_Naruto paused for a moment, before speaking up again. "Tell me… what keeps you from crossing the line?"_

_Kisarabi laughed, looking away. "You and I are unique people, Nightwalker-kun. We are so because we aren't consumed by the world, nor do we cross the line defining humanity from abomination. We are unique because we sit on that line… and laugh at the people on either side of it." She smirked at the boy as he raised an eyebrow at her. Shaking her head, she readjusted her sitting position. "You kill for a living. You're not blinded by revenge, or anger, or hatred, or of any ill will towards other people. You do what you justify to be the right thing. While me…"_

_There was a groan beside her, as one of the 'dead' victims of their slaughter stirred from their slumber. Smirking, Kisarabi pulled out her pistol, pointed it down at the man's head, and fired, blowing his brains out, and ending his suffering._

"_I do what I need to do to survive. You see, the secret to living is __**fighting**__. You __**fight**__ every day to make a living, and you __**fight**__ every day to survive. It's basically strongest of the fittest personified by human beings…"_

_

* * *

_

_**Present day…**_

Naruto wasted no time in making his next move, and threw a kunai in Kisarabi's direction. The woman sidestepped it, only for her blonde target standing in front of her to suddenly vanish in a yellow flash before she could counter, and reappear hovering right beside her, sending a hook straight across her face. The woman ducked the hit and punched at him, but he vanished again, his form fading back into view several meters behind her.

Taking advantage of her blind spot, Naruto charged. But the bounty hunter, easily predicting his movements, spun around with both her guns drawn and opened fire, hitting Naruto square in the shoulder and leg, causing the boy to fall forwards. However, he managed to get in close, and tackled her to the ground.

As soon as he landed on her, he flipped off of her when she lashed out at him with a hidden blade from her own gauntlet, and leapt away just as the woman leapt to her feet. Both of them spun around to face each other, with Naruto still running to put distance between him and her. When he turned around, jumping through the air at the same time, he threw a cluster of shuriken in her direction.

Kisarabi responded to the new threat by stepping out of the way of the throwing knives, and throwing her hidden blade in his direction, the blade being revealed to be a silver combat blade. Naruto ducked under it just in time as he landed on the grassy floor, skidding along it as his momentum ceased. During which, Kisarabi reached onto her back, and drew the rifle holstered there.

The lever-action rifle was of custom design, and suited the woman's purpose well, as it was sawn-off for quick access. Cocking the weapon, she took aim and grinned, as the boy remained square in her sights, her right eye spinning as it leveled on him.

Spotting the danger, Naruto turned heal and ran for it, zigzagging in his escape. However, before he could make it over the crest of the next hill, the woman aimed for the hill itself and let loose her attack. The air around her literally slowed as it began to warp around her.

"_**Rasengan!"**_ she shouted.

She fired, the high velocity bullet striking the ground. A split second later, the valley floor covering a one kilometer radius in the direction the bullet was traveling went up in a blazing inferno. Literally, the friction of the energy powered bullet with the air was enough to ignite it, and an explosion comparable to that of a tactical nuke engulfed Naruto, with the ninety-nine percent capability of putting him out of commission…

Permanently…

Kisarabi watched as the mushroom cloud filled the air above her, and lowered her smoking gun with an analytical expression in play. Just as she was becoming comfortable with the idea that she had won, she unexpectedly saw the cloud part as a shining blue light shot from out of the mass of fire and smoke, before shooting straight towards her.

The bounty hunter blinked in surprise when she saw Naruto, charred from the explosion; descend towards her with a spiraling blue sphere of pure energy warping in his right hand.

Teeth gritted, he lunged down at her, just as she holstered her rifle and brought her left hand around, a metallic knuckle brace suddenly cuffing her fingers. An electric current ran up and down the woman's arm with the activation of her melee device, as she timed her opponent's attack pattern, and readied to counter.

"Wind Release…" Naruto roared, his regular Rasengan suddenly forming into a four-pronged shuriken, which spun like a saw blade in his grip. With a yell of effort, he thrust it forward. "_**RASENGAN**_!"

"_**Lightning Storm!"**_ Kisarabi roared as well, thrusting her hand out and meeting Naruto's attack head on.

"_Nightwalker-kun… can I ask you a favor?"_

"_What could you ever ask me, Kisarabi-chan? You have everything you could possibly want in this world…"_

"_Don't be so coy. There's no way I can have everything I want… not yet anyway…"_

_She looked at him, and smiled…_

The immediate result of both powerful attacks colliding was the Wind Release technique to erupt like a hurricane, and Kisarabi's sheathed electric palm to start sprouting off random bolts of lightning as the attacks ground into one another. The wind out from the center of the attack and whipped at both combatants, Naruto biting his teeth together to hold his drive, whereas Kisarabi tried to hold her ground as the earth was ripped apart around them.

"_You're… really the only person I can relate to, both in mind and soul… that's a rarity in this world…"_

"_Sounds like something trivial another person would say. But still… it's you… go on…"_

"_Naruto…__**kun**__… do you think you'd ever… come to love me?"_

Within seconds, the conclusion arrived as an explosion ripped out between them, sending both warriors flying in opposite directions. The blast from the resulting collision of attacks covered a radius of thirty meters, but their flight from the rebound covered triple that distance, with Naruto bouncing violently across the valley about ten times before rolling to a stop.

"_Love… you…?"_

"_If you do… then… can you promise me… if we ever fight, and by some impossible, long shot… you manage to beat me… do you think… you and I… __**we**__… would be able to walk the same path together…?"_

_She was incredibly hesitant…_

By the time the shockwaves subsided, the blonde was already struggling to his feet, bleeding from several different places, bruised, battered, and his right arm was looking as thought it was shoved into a blender. Gasping for breath, he rose to his feet and gripped his limp arm, his body racked with pain, and his head spinning from the trip. He glared straight up towards the wall of smoke and dust where their attacks collided and went off, his thoughts continuing to linger.

"_If I had a choice, I'd ask to walk alongside you on your own path Kisarabi, for the rest of my life. But… since you proposed it first, then... it's a promise I can definitely keep…"_

Panting where he knelt for several seconds, he grinned.

"I guess I won…"

However, just before he could do anything else, such as confirm his victory, there was a flash of a silhouette in front of him, and Naruto looked up in shock when he unexpectedly spotted Kisarabi appear out of thin air right in front of him, a smirk on her face and looking a little torn up by the attack.

The moment she appeared in front of him, she grabbed him by his face with her right hand and shoved him over, slamming him hard into the ground. Unable to defend himself, even if he tried, the blonde prepared for the worst as he looked up at the woman as she released her grip on him.

"_She's complete unfazed,"_ Naruto thought, his expression surprisingly calm._ "… She's… going to kill me…"_

He smiled inwardly, knowing he was going to get exactly what he deserved.

But, fortunately for him, the universe doesn't work that way.

What he got instead of an ass-kicking or a swift death was something he never expected to receive from the bounty hunter in a million years.

Straddling him, Kisarabi grabbed his jacket collar and pulled him towards her, before leaning over quickly and passionately kissing him on the lips, locking them in an intimate embrace. For what seemed like that eternity they spoke of, with Naruto's shock faltering to acceptance, they remained that way. It all ended though, when the woman relinquished her victim and smirked down at him, her amused glare still in play.

"Hey… Nightwalker-kun…" she exclaimed, a little too weakly from what Naruto was used to. "I… I'm… sorry. Heh… I'm going to have to break my promise…"

Naruto analyzed his taste buds for a moment, picking up the undeniable, tangy taste of copper.

He was more or less stunned when, while he was looking up at Kisarabi's face, he saw blood starting to leak out of the woman's mouth. The woman shared with him one final smile, before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she passed out, rolling off of him in the process. It was only when she fell to her side the blonde was able to take in the extent of the damage his attack had inflicted upon his opponent.

The sight nearly broke him…

In spite of being far weaker then the woman herself, his attack wasn't. The woman's entire left arm had been torn off, quite literally gone, leaving but a stump, which was her shoulder, and was profusely leaking blood. Kisarabi was out like a light the moment the loss of bodily fluids, pain, and the sum total of damage she had received, hit her full on, leaving Naruto to crawl away from her momentarily in shock, before a strong will and heart forced him over to her aid, to see if he could help her.

However, his heart sunk when he checked her vitals…

…

Nothing…

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	49. Fate Meets Death

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Fate Meets Death_

_**Elsewhere on the battlefield…**_

Sparks flew as Tenten and Kin clashed with Yoroi, with Shizune backing them up. Unfortunately for the 'Kabuto-replacement', the medic nin was pitted three against one, and since one of those three was an apprentice of the Slug Sannin, and two of them were some of the best kunoichi of Genin level Konoha could offer, he was kind of at a loss.

Panting, the man back flipped to avoid a cluster of senbon and kunai thrown at him by the two girls, and landed some distance away from the targeted point while clutching the wound in his left shoulder. Frowning, he watched the three person team form up in front of him, causing him to sweat bullets when he saw they were all ready to attack again.

Sealing up the wound with chakra scalpels, choosing not to clean it up as of yet, he held out his right hand, with his opponents watching as the familiar blue chakra took shape around his limb.

"_Going three on one here is excruciatingly difficult. I shouldn't have toyed with them from the get-go…" _the man thought, frowning deeply. _"I'll need to get back to Lord Orochimaru…"_

Shizune charged at him down the middle, Tenten launching a barrage of Fuma Shuriken in his direction. Yoroi dodged left and right against the onslaught of massive flying weapons, before blocking the Sannin's apprentice lunging at him. He caught her senbon against his kunai, and held her in place as the two exchanged glares.

The man dressed in the same outfit he wore in the Chunin Exams, but without the mask, grinned at the woman as they grappled with each other.

"I'll have to admit; even Kabuto would be having a hard time against you if he was still alive…"

"I have no idea who that guy is," Shizune hissed, pushing the man back in response.

"Heh… that's good. There's still plenty of time for me to make a name for myself while his corpse can just stew in the morgue," Yoroi replied, pushing off of the woman.

The two of them leapt back through the air and away from each other, Shizune suddenly spitting two senbon from her mouth towards her target. Yoroi was barely able to lower his head, so that his headband deflected the two incoming projectiles, before throwing his own kunai in the woman's direction. The knives were knocked out of the air by a pair of shuriken thrown by Tenten, the bun haired girl unraveling a scroll in the process.

"Disrespectful little whelp," Yoroi growled.

"Wow… very original…" Kin shouted back, reaching back for her pouch and drawing a chain of wire and kunai tied to it. When she drew it, a cluster of bells dangled with each kunai, as the girl strung out her new tools. "Try this on for size!" The raven haired Genin shouted, catching the kunai she drew between her fingers before throwing them all out towards the medic nin at the same time. "_**Ninja Art: Cascading Sound Rain**_!"

The kunai tied with bells cut through the air towards Yoroi all at once in a barrage of over four dozen weapons. Quickly calculating evasive maneuvers, the medic neon made haste, turning heel and sprinting for it. He leapt out of the way just in time to avoid the first wave. However, the moment each of the kunai impacted with the ground, instead of unleashing small, high pitch sound waves that staggered the target, the chakra enhanced bells instead detonated with the force and the resonance of shockwaves. The invisible blasts rang through the air at high velocity, and even though the kunai were far from hitting their intended target, the sonic booms did the job where the knives didn't.

Yoroi was smacked back by a simultaneous chain of invisible, concussive blasts, the rest of the kunai thrown landing in front and around him, before his hapless body was sent crash-landing back to the valley floor. After his pin-ball machine of a beat-down, he was pretty much out of it by the time his body began skipping across the grassy hills several times before eventually stopping.

A minute passed since making ground zero, and once his muscles stopped vibrating from being smacked about, the rogue ninja, at a staggered pace, clumsily rose back to his feet, his ears bleeding and eyes seeing sextuple. He quite literally stumbled across the valley for several yards before managing to prop himself up against a large boulder during his slow recovery.

"Damn it…" he growled, clutching the side of his head. _"That bitch Kin… I thought she was long dead… how is it she's still alive and __**this**__ strong now?"_

"_**Ninja Art: Twin Rising Dragons**_!" Tenten shouted, leaping up through the air with two sheets of scrolls unraveled. Spinning on the spot, she began unleashing a rain of deadly accurate throwing weapons, propelling them down towards Yoroi hunched over at the boulder.

Her opponent, still on the verge of recovery, quickly gained whatever bearings he could and made a run for it, carefully maneuvering through the field of potholes Kin had created with her kunai attack, while avoiding the new rain of kunai, shuriken, scythes, chains and senbon coming at him from above. He danced about clumsily, narrowly missing being sliced to pieces, but still being impaled by some of the smaller weapons. By the end of the deadly shower, the valley was quite literally covered in throwing weapons, and Yoroi, who was unfortunately at the receiving end, was once again lying face first in the ground.

Shizune, Kin and Tenten slowly approached after a few minutes of radio silence, and making sure to keep their distance of the man, went to check on the damage he'd taken. The result of their combined attacks saw that he had about; a dozen projectiles lodged into his back, a scythe lodged into his side and that he was bleeding out all over the place. The bun haired girl responsible for his current position pulled out her Kusarigama from her summoning scroll, and prodded him with the blunt end.

"Is he… dead?" Tenten asked.

"Not quite!" Yoroi hissed, turning over and grinned up at them, both hands igniting with blue chakra. The three of them leapt back at the threat as the man sat up into a kneeling position. Before any of them could take any action against him, the medic nin pulled out a pair of smoke bombs and set them off right underneath him, forcing the three women into retreat.

Making sure to stay outside of the cloud, just in case it was laced with poison, the three kunoichi watched as it faded away, only to reveal a human shaped hole dug straight down into the earth.

"That's Kabuto's technique: _Hiding like a Mole_!" Kin pointed out, turning her eyes towards the ground around them. "Pay attention to your feet. He could be anywhere!"

"I'm tracking him!" Shizune said, following an unknown path across the grasslands. She eventually followed the vibrations through the earth as it traveled, not towards them, but away from them. Eventually, the apprentice of the Slug Sannin followed it over to where Jiraiya and Orochimaru were battling atop of their summons, Manda and Gamabunta a couple of kilometers away. She furrowed her brow at the sight. "It looks like he's going back to rejoin his master…"

* * *

_**Elsewhere…**_

Tsunade smashed through a wall of pink crystals, intent on getting at her opponent, with Guren hard on the retreat from the unrelenting attacks of the kunoichi. Spinning around in her sprint, she formed another hand seal, pillars of diamond hard minerals jutting up between her and the blonde. But the medic nin tore through that as well, shards flying in all directions as the woman effortlessly smashed through it.

"That's it!" Guren shouted, flashing through more hand seals. "_**Crystal Release: The Gods' Crossing Technique!**_" she roared, slamming her hand into the ground, and transparent crystals spikes began jutting out at high speed towards Tsunade, the wave well on its way to piercing its target.

The Sannin however, seeing the wave, leapt over it and through the air. Spinning through the air, the woman managed to avoid the series of spears and flew down at her target, leg raised high into the air, her heel literally eclipsing the sun in Guren's eyes. The shocked woman had but a second to move as her opponent's leg came thundering down on top of her.

"Go to hell!" Tsunade shouted, her heel connecting with the ground with explosive force. Her hit punched a massive crater into the valley hillside, tearing it to shreds as the shockwave rang out. Guren quickly produced a shield to block out the shockwaves, but even that wasn't enough when the hit was at point blank range.

Even though she managed to dodge a direct hit, she was within a hair-length of the actual impact point, and by the time the hexagonal shield began to cover her side of her body, it shattered when the shockwave hit it. The woman cried out in agony as she was propelled through the air away from the impact point, and landed hard on a hillside, rolling down it to its base.

Tasting the unsavory dirt of defeat, Guren managed to push herself off the ground and glare up to the top of the hill, where Tsunade was standing and looking down in disappointment. Her arms folded, she gave the woman she was fighting her best death glare, which was pretty terrifying from a certain perspective.

"Surrender…"

"No… not to you… bitch," Guren growled, kneeling up and forming a single hand sign. "I may not beat you today, but I will next time! Mark my words!" Just before Tsunade could rush down to take the woman out, four crystal pillars suddenly shot out of the ground around the purple haired rogue shinobi, and slammed together, encasing her in a protecting shell, before being dragged straight back down into the ground.

The crystal vessel was gone by the time the blonde Sannin made it down.

"Dammit!" Tsunade cursed, gritting her teeth and glaring over to where her other companions were fighting.

The results of Naruto's battle were unknown, and she had watched Shizune, Tenten and Kin had managed to drive off their opponent. However, Jiraiya and Orochimaru's battle was still going on.

If there was a fight still out there, the kunoichi knew she had to be there…

* * *

_**With Orochimaru and Jiraiya…**_

"Damn you, Kisarabi," the Snake Sannin hissed, glaring off over the hilltops as he detected the particular chakra signature disappear off the map. "How can you fail me?" He was knocked out of his reverie when Manda swerved suddenly to avoid Gamabunta, as the giant toad lunged in with his tanto. The huge snake managed to avoid being impaled, and swiftly retreated out of its target's attack range.

"_**You insignificant maggot! How dare you raise a blade to me?" **_Manda roared, rounding on the giant toad that stood before it, with Jiraiya perched safely a top of its brow. _**"As punishment, I hope you enjoy the bowels of hell…"**_

"_**If you're referring to your stomach, then I think I'll pass, thank you," **_Gamabunta snapped back, with his summoner chuckling. _**"Oye, Jiraiya… hand me a light would yah?"**_

"With pleasure!" Jiraiya shouted, flying through hand seals as Manda was coiling to strike. Sucking in air, the hermit prepared to unleash his attack, Gamabunta removing the pipe from his mouth and cheeks inflating. Then, all at once, the pair unleashed their collaboration jutsu. _**"Fire Style: Toad Oil Flame Bomb!"**_

A jet of hot oil gushed out from Gamabunta's mouth, accompanied by a fireball fired by Jiraiya. The combination of attacks practically coiled around each other, with the fireball technique igniting the oil as it rocketed towards Manda. The massive snake was too cumbersome to attempt in evasion, and took the full force of the blast, much to Jiraiya's surprise as he watched the massive snake get roasted by the attack. Seconds later, and the huge tower of fire died out, all that was left standing in place of Orochimaru's summon was a charred snake-skin.

Gamabunta huffed in annoyance, with Jiraiya scowling suspiciously. "He shed his skin?"

"_**For a lumbering snake, he sure is quick!" **_the toad summon muttered. Before either of them could determine what had happened, the ground began to shake, and the two of them looked down suddenly, detecting a huge presence moving below ground. _**"Oh… there they are…"**_

"Up front!" Jiraiya shouted, spotting a cave in of ground moving towards them, chunks of earth flying as the behemoth of a snake carved its way through the ground towards them. Gamabunta prepared himself for the worst.

"JIRAIYA!" Tsunade shouted up to the old man, skidding to a stop just short of the battlefield, Shizune, Tenten and Kin not too far behind her. "WATCH YOUR BACK!"

Catching onto the warning, Jiraiya knelt down and patted his summon on the head. "I'll take the front! Swing around!"

"_**GOT IT!"**_ Gamabunta shouted, spinning around on the spot with his tanto. At that moment, the ground in front of him split open, and a tail came shooting up to strike the frog, but it was met by an opposing, powerful force.

Jiraiya was able to shift through hand seals quickly, and after sucking in air, fired a massive pillar of water towards the tail. "_Water Style: Water Bullet Technique!"_ The shockwave of water struck the tale and knocked it back, just as the ground behind Gamabunta ripped open, and the snake's head came flying up at them. Its jaws opened wide and it hissed loudly, meeting Gamabunta head to head.

Just as it was about to consume the toad in a killer bite, the frog managed to pull one over on its rival, and slammed its tanto blade right up into its lower jaw, impaling not only the bottom mouth, but also the upper jaw, sealing it shut. Grabbing the flat end of his colossal blade, Gamabunta twisted the sword around, with all his might, pulling Manda up and out of the ground, before throwing him straight back into it, landing on top of its neck.

"_**Stay down you twisting belt!" **_Gamabunta growled, watching Manda struggle, with blood pouring out of its mouth.

"_**Damn you… you… insolent… amphibian!" **_Manda growled through a muffled mouth and clenched teeth.

While Gamabunta wrestled with Manda, Jiraiya leapt off of his summon's head to deal with Orochimaru, who had jumped off of his pet snake to get away from the series of attacks. The Sannin ran for it as the white haired hermit pursued across the valley, ending when Yoroi popped up in front of his master.

Reuniting with his aid, the Snake Sannin spun around to face Jiraiya head to head, smirking when his former teammate also skidded to a stop. Both of them panting, they glared at each other, one sweating bullets, the other one determined to bring down the pale-faced freak standing in front of him.

However, Orochimaru would once again proved to be slipperier then a snake himself.

"I've… suddenly had a change of heart… Jiraiya…" the one-armed man hissed, earning a raised eyebrow from Jiraiya. "I'll let you all live today… after all… what good will it be for me to kill you off, when I have bigger problems to worry about that you could simply deal with…"

"What _bigger_ problems?" the Toad Sannin questioned impatiently.

"You'll find out soon enough," Orochimaru sneered with a wide grin. "There's more then one way to regain what I have lost… and more. Once I've fully recovered, mark my words… Konohagakure will feel my wrath… as I burn it and everyone in that Kami-forsaken village… to the _**ground**_!" Without another world, the snake then began sinking into the ground, vanishing from sight a few seconds later.

Aware that his summoner had fled the battlefield, Manda followed suit as well. After cursing his attackers one last time, the massive snake vanished in a large cloud of white smoke, Gamabunta's foot eventually coming in contact with the floor.

Yoroi followed his master's lead, disappearing in a shunshin just as Jiraiya made a rush for him. Unfortunately, as soon as the Sannin tore through the cloud of white smoke to grab at the medic nin, he stumbled through, falling flat onto his stomach with a loud thud and a yelp.

Groaning, he looked up, looking more disheveled then ever.

"Why does that always happen?"

* * *

When Jiraiya dispelled Gamabunta and eventually rejoined with Tsunade and the others, the Konoha shinobi then went off to find where Naruto was at. It didn't take them long to find him when they came trotting up the hill where his battle took place, and they ran into the Jonin. Naruto slouched up the hill side, his face looking down, and in his left hand, he was carrying a rag of some sort, or what looked like a rag.

The team looked at him with great patience and consideration, watching as the boy stopped in front of them, and looked at each of their faces with a half-smile. However, the gleam in his eyes told the better part of the group who knew him well, that he was experiencing suppressed grief.

The sight of recently wiped away tears told them everything…

"Naruto-kun?" Kin murmured, walking up to him slowly. The blonde held up what he was holding, which was a piece of Kisarabi's trench coat, blood and mud coating the long strip of material.

"Baa-chan… could you do me a favor?" he asked. Tsunade blinked, nodding her head as she and the others awaited his request. "Could you heal Kisarabi's wounds? I don't want to bury her covered in blood…"

Although a little bit odd coming from Naruto, Tsunade and the others did understand one thing. Somewhere over that ridge, the best bounty hunter to ever walk the ninja plains was laying face-down in the ground, defeated by someone way below her league. Only Kin and Tenten could comprehend this fact.

But for Jiraiya, Tsunade and Shizune, it was a completely different story to them.

Just from reading his expression, they were aware that the blonde knew her on a profoundly personal level, so it was understandable to the seniors that he wanted his opponent to look her best before he said his last goodbyes. So without a single question as to why, Tsunade followed Naruto over and down to where the woman was lying, letting him navigate his own footsteps back to her.

The others followed in their stead.

Once they arrived at the sight of the battle, those who didn't participate in the one-on-one conflict found it scorched with magnesium burns, craters, splits in the earth across the valley, and other scars of battle alike. The sight could only be described as a result of a hail storm of fire that just made landfall, and those who had battled on the sidelines of this one could only imagine what actually transpired here.

However, focus turned to the center of the valley where, shockingly enough, Naruto could not find his defeated opponent. Instead, all he found was a large patch of red against the green where she was lying minutes before, and a discarded cigarette sitting in the middle of it. He jogged around the patch and started searching the horizon line, the others also looking around in confusion.

"W-What happened?" Tenten asked. "Didn't you kill her?"

"I…I thought so…" Naruto murmured, his sorrow slowly fading away, to be subtly replaced by a sense of relief and joy. "But I… when? How did she…?"

"Apparently, she _survived_," Shizune commented while looking a little bit surprised herself. With the amount of blood she could see, there was no way the person Naruto managed to wound could have gone far. However, looking at the expression of delight on the boy's face, it didn't really matter. She just smiled and walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah… never better…" Naruto chuckled, rubbing his eyes, as well as covering up unshed tears. _"That woman… I swear…" _He started laughing, earning a giggle from Shizune.

Jiraiya scratched his head, sighing. "Well… though we didn't catch any of them today, I'm damn well certain we've got that old snake bastard on the run."

"We sure gave them the fight of their lives," Kin giggled, turning to her friends and comrades. Tenten also shared a small smile with her, high fiving her, before the two of them rounded on Shizune and her superiors. "So… what do we do now?"

"Don't know," Tsunade murmured, folding her arms and sighing. "Guess… now we go back to Konoha, appoint me as the old codger's replacement up in that boring old tower, and carry on business and booze as usual. Ugh. I bet that chair is still as uncomfortable as ever."

"I'll put you in for a new one as soon as we get back," Jiraiya exclaimed, patting his female teammate on the shoulder and grinning at her when she glanced back at him. "How do you like one of those personal massage chairs? It's great for the back, legs, neck and bosom! We've got to keep you in great condition for the paperwork and that gorgeous figure of yours fine and firm for the public's viewing pleasure."

Tsunade smiled. "I'd like that." She then kneed him in the stomach, earning a cough and a groan from the letch, who hunched over her leg when he almost lost consciousness. The blonde woman grinned and kicked him back up into a standing position, while he clutched his abdominals. "Always good chatting with you, you old goat."

Kin and Tenten giggled, and Shizune just smiled in amusement on the sidelines. Naruto on the other hand, just smirked at his teachers' antics, as he clenched the piece of cloth in his hands tightly, before ringing it out and stitching it up to his trench coat. Once the memento from the battle was secure, he admired the adornment on his arm for a moment, and turned to stare off onto the horizon.

"_I should have known from the beginning… it's physically impossible to kill Kisarabi…"_

_

* * *

_

_**Some ways out…**_

_**Back in Tanzaku Gai…**_

Passers paid little mind to the woman with the heavily bandaged left shoulder or stump of an arm leaning against the side of a random building and staring up at the sky. Still donned in her famous trench coat and hat, and still possessing each and every single tool of the trade she started the day off with, the battered bounty hunter grinned as she analyzed the wide open expanse of blue above her.

Pulling out a cigarette from a random pocket and a lighter, she cracked open a small flame and lit the stick, inhaling the smoke as if it were her lifeline. Breathing out the fumes, Kisarabi then took it upon herself to stand under her own power, using the wall as her support. Despite the pain racking at her body, she hid it well, shrugging her shoulders of any inconveniences as she lowered her hat over her eyes for concealment.

"What a bloody day this has turned out to be…"

A good old beat down, an infliction of minimal injuries upon her, and getting her arm blown away, was just yet another ordinary day in the life of a common bounty hunter.

Turning heel, the woman took her leave, and proceeded down the main road leading out of town towards the South. She ignored everybody she passed, smiling to herself as she trailed a stream of smoke from her cigarette in her wake.

"I hear the _Land of Demons_ is lovely this time of year…" she mumbled to herself in contemplation, looking up slightly with a smirk. _"Time for me to retire…"_

Before she could officially leave the town, she turned back briefly in the direction her battle with Naruto had taken place. Removing the cigarette from her mouth, the white haired woman let loose a laugh of amusement, flicking the ashes to the ground. In spite of being beaten fair and square, and in spite of it costing her dearly, she was still happy. She knew she had taken it easy on the kid, aware that she could have beaten him had she wanted to, but in their fight, she had seen how much stronger he had become.

It was this quality she admired in the boy that drove her to allow herself to get beaten by him. So, if you were to look at it from both ends of the field, it was a victory for both of them.

Her racing heart told her only one thing.

She couldn't wait to meet him again.

"_But not yet…"_

Against the backdrop of a black and white world, Kisarabi stood prominent and noticeable, yet remained a ghost at the same time as the crowd moved around her. In the next few minutes she stood there in thought, and in all that time, couldn't stop smiling.

"_I'll join you on your path one of these days, Nightwalker-kun," _Kisarabi thought out loud, before turning and heading out the main gates. _"After all… we won't be able to couple properly until you've come of age. I'll wait for you then…"_

Soon enough, she disappeared over the horizon…

* * *

_**The days following…**_

After recovering from their own wounds suffered in the battle, Naruto, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, Tenten and Kin began their long trip back to Konohagakure. For most of it, it was relatively uneventful, save for the quick stop off at the hot springs where the girls got massages and Jiraiya tried another desperate venture into the mixed bathing area, only to get the unpleasant company of old men and fat guys. Naruto stuck it out by wandering the outer fields instead and soaking up the vibrant atmosphere, thinking back to his battle with Kisarabi and how he had won.

Though he didn't let it show, the experience had changed him a bit. It made him think back to the days before, where he killed through calculation and without question. It was a trait he had picked up from the bounty hunter herself. However, when he looked back, he realized how much he had evolved from that cold-blooded assassin he was, to the more lax ninja he was today. It was real food for thought, which allowed him to come to the conclusion that if he was to get stronger, then maybe he should retrace his steps with the help of his friends.

Eventually, when the time of relaxation and thought had come to pass, the group then went on their merry way.

It took them fewer days to return to Konoha then it did traveling to Tanzaku Gai and since leaving the village, the young Jonin Naruto had become as professional as he could possibly be. He made certain that his team's condition was in its prime and placed the safety and wellbeing of both his escort and clients above his own for the remainder of the mission. However, despite his brave face and uncharacteristic show of authority, Tsunade made a little note to him that she preferred his new, boisterous character, and that he could be serious in his own time. His presence as that funny little kid she knew quite well always…'lightened the mood', as the Sannin so eloquently put it…

"_Lets me know ahead of time that I'm descending into hell…" _Tsunade spoke, commenting on Naruto's usual unpredictable personality as soon as they were in sight of Konoha's main gate.

As soon as they were seen in through the main gate, the team escorted Tsunade up to the Hokage Tower and into the main office, where Hiruzen Sarutobi welcomed her back with open arms. When she questioned on where the elders were, he simply stated that they were off 'digging holes'. Taking that as simply a political term of keeping busy, the kunoichi simply let it slide and allowed herself to be inducted into the role of Hokage of Konohagakure by its present one. In the meantime, Shizune began establishing herself as the new secretary to the new Hokage, becoming familiar with the office, and following her master around as she was given the low down by the Third.

After being congratulated for a job well done and dismissed shortly afterwards, Naruto and his friends headed home. A run in with Konohamaru slowed them down a little though, as he was a tad bit upset that his grandfather was retiring, and was feeling strongly against his decision, which he expressed through moping and pranks. Naruto had to slow the kid down, and after a quick chat with him assuring the boy that his grandfather would always be remembered for what he's done, sent him on his way.

Because it had been such a trying period for the three of them, all they wanted to do as soon as they got back to the estate was crash in their allotted beds. However, unbeknownst to them, they were to get quite an interesting surprise the moment they entered the place.

While Kin and Tenten went up to their rooms, Naruto decided to make a trip to the kitchen for a light snack, only to find his kitchen being raided by Kankuro, with Temari talking to Sakura animatedly over a cup of tea on the sidelines, and Gaara playing poker with Little Haru. He blinked in surprise and fingered the newcomers out when all attention turned to him.

"Oh! Naruto-kun, you're back!" Sakura exclaimed.

"'Uod, u 'ee 'u," Kankuro exclaimed, his mouth stuffed with a bread roll. Gaara acknowledged his best friend's presence with a smile and a polite nod, before returning to his game, while Temari rose from her seat along with Sakura to greet Naruto face to face.

A warm hug and a kiss was all the time the pair had before Naruto returned back to the matter at hand.

"Why are you guys in my house?" Naruto asked, before pointing to Kankuro, who had his arms loaded with chip packets and various other assorted goodies. "And why are you Grinching on my TV snacks?"

Swallowing the roll in his mouth, the puppeteer grinned. "Oh, _Seinfeld_ is about to start, and I don't wanna miss it!" The man quickly vacated the room before Naruto could even sputter another word of question or complaint. He instead, directed his confused look towards Temari.

"My earlier question still stands…"

"Oh… well… after the Chunin Exams, my brothers and I decided to hang around a bit longer till everything back over at Sunagakure has been settled. What with the casualties and damages our village had sustained in the invasion a week ago, it's a real mess at the moment. Of course, we've been keeping ourselves really well occupied since you left; doing all that we could to help around the village such as cleaning up, reestablishing commerce and fixing up the buildings." Temari shrugged with a small smile. "We're allies now, and since we knew you wouldn't mind, we decided to crash over at your place till everything blows over. You did mention to Gaara during the Chunin Exams that we were welcome to stay over at your place whenever we were in town."

"Look you guys… my place may be big, but it isn't a hotel…" Naruto scratched his head, scrunching his face in deep thought. The moment she sensed a moment of objection from the blonde, Temari gave him the puppy dog look, with Sakura following suite for her friend. The blonde was hit full on at point blank by their expressions, and he immediately caved in. He sighed a second later and threw his hands into the air. "Of course, if you need a place to stay, feel free to lounge about. But stay away from my meditation garden. You can't use it without my permission…"

Temari smiled brightly and hugged him in gratitude.

"You're a great friend, Naruto-kun!" Temari exclaimed, nuzzling his face. In response, he simply smiled and hugged her back with equal affection.

"Full House! Pay up!" Little Haru giggled happily, slapping her five-card winning hand down on the table. Gaara's left eye twitched and he lowered his head, glaring across the table at the girl who had won the last thirty games in a row.

"Seriously, how do you keep doing that?" he asked in his usual, monotone voice, despite the fact he was obviously agitated at his continuing losing streak.

* * *

_**The next day…**_

Naruto was slammed full on in the face by a rock solid fist and sent flying back several feet before skidding to a stop. Shaking his head when he stopped, he showed off a pretty bruised and cut up face, with blood pouring from his nose, mouth and right eye. Grinning, he spat to the side and took another stance, with Anko standing in front of him with a grin on her face, and blood also leaking out of the corner of her mouth.

After a brief stand off, Naruto lunged at the woman, sending punches in her direction. His sensei backed off step by step, blocking hit after hit, while smirking as her student let loose. However, she was forced to take him a bit more seriously when he started trying even harder then before, slapping aside blows to her chest, and ducking under a jump kick. The two began dancing back and forth across the back lawn, skidding along the ground and kicking up dirt.

In the background of the rather serious spar session, sat Sakura and Hinata, who were wiping themselves down with towels from their own spar, and had taken to watching Naruto fight their sensei in a pure taijutsu battle. From the expressions on their faces, they were surprised that Naruto was able to fight on par, particularly after laying off several other opponents.

Earlier that day Naruto went around Konohagakure calling up volunteers or anyone willing enough to spar with him, and not to mention give him a challenge. As the situation asked for it, he not only pulled Neji and his own sensei up for a challenge, but also Kotetsu and Izumo, both of which were lying unconscious against the bench next to Sakura and Hinata. Next to the two girl members of Team 7, Neji also sat, drinking a bottle of water and looking beat from his battle with the blonde.

Gaara was also standing under the shade of the nearby tree, accompanied by Little Haru and Temari, both of whom were watching the fight with great intent. In the heat of the sun and battle though, Haru was looking a bit terrified, and twitched with every mind-boggling blow Naruto and Anko took, respectively.

Hearing her whimper, Temari chuckled and glanced over at the little girl sitting next to her.

"Hey, if you're scared so much, why don't you go inside and watch TV?" the Suna kunoichi asked. Little Haru just shook her head in defiance.

Naruto ducked a casual punch from his opponent and did a three punch combo, Anko blocking all of them and elbowing out at him in response, only for him to side step and block an incoming hook. He swiftly flailed his arms around her arm, expertly moving into her defensive range, jumping in an attempted knee, which she blocked. He then spun through the air with a right roundhouse kick, which the woman ducked timely.

Sweat flew between the two of them, mixed with blood and fury. The sight of Naruto pressing home his assault had Haru awe with delight, only to whimper again when he started receiving blows in return. The sight of the little girl had Temari giggle in amusement.

Anko thrust a kick out at him, which he blocked, but was propelled several meters back from the force. The moment he was back in a proper fighting stance, his sensei laughed and called for time out.

"Damn gaki, you've gotten stronger," she laughed, walking back over to where Sakura and Hinata were. She was tossed a bottle by Neji before she sat down, where she happily drank her fill. "I hate to admit this, but you might even be the same strength as your teacher now…"

"Perhaps. But this was an all taijutsu match. Things could change if you threw ninja techniques into the battle…" Naruto chuckled, stretching out.

Gaara smiled on the sidelines, before stepping out of the shadows and onto the grass. Nobody really noticed him moving till Naruto turned to face him curiously. Everyone blinked in surprise, even Neji, as they watched the sand user take to the grassy lawn.

"Uhh… Gaara?" Naruto began, blinking. "What… umm… what are you doing?"

"Spar with me, Uzumaki," Gaara replied, untying the gourd on his back and throwing it to the side, where it rolled to a stop in front of Little Haru, who put her arms around it and looked over towards the two combatants curiously.

Naruto was dumbfounded, so was Temari and Sakura. Nobody outside of the entire group had ever seen the red head ever use taijutsu, outside for brief defensive maneuvers whenever somebody got by his defense. To toss aside his sand gourd willingly was truly a shocking turn of events as he began stretching out, his arms and muscles literally creaking. In that instant, the sand armor covering the by simply fell away into a pile of sand around his ankles, which he stepped out of.

"G-Gaara…" Temari rose to her feet with concern, setting her fan aside. "Y-You…"

"Don't worry about me, sister," Gaara replied, cracking his neck while smiling calmly at his sparring partner, who was still gawking at him. "Taijutsu may not be my specialty, but I've learned a lot from watching. I have to step out of my comfort zone every once in a while and face my opponents on their level…"

Naruto, drinking in this information, smirked and assumed a basic fighting stance. "Using sand for most of your life, I'm not really sure your physical strength is up to scratch…"

"My sand armor and gourd are heavier then they look, Uzumaki," Gaara replied with a small smile. "You'll be surprised…"

The red head charged him, displaying surprising speed for someone who was usually stationary in battle. Naruto took a stance, and blocked the flurry of well-timed combinations heading his way. He backed down, knocking aside one blow after the other, before responding with a jab across Gaara's face. The blonde was astounded when his attack actually connected with his friend's real skin for the first time ever. The Suna Genin was staggered, but not stopped, and returned to the battle.

"This… is… inconceivable," Temari stammered, blinking out of sheer astonishment. "I've never seen Gaara go hand to hand before…" Gaara leapt after Naruto when he back-flipped away, and began maneuvering to avoid punch after punch, and kick after kick thrown at him.

"Makes you wonder what else he can accomplish under his own power," Anko exclaimed as she analyzed the boy's fighting style. It was a bit rusty, clearly Genin level, but he was obviously trying his best, yet did not allow this piece of information show on his face.

"This day has just gotten more interesting…" Sakura exclaimed, with Hinata nodding her head in agreement.

* * *

_**Somewhere…**_

_**In Konohagakure…**_

Naruto looked up and down from his shopping list to the street, an arm wrapped around a grocery bag filled with goods that were to replace the empty spaces Kankuro had created when cleaning out his kitchen. Fortunately for him it wasn't a total loss. They were only chips. So now, in his arms, he had grain waves, kettles, thins, smiths and all a manner of assorted potato chips, not to mention toasted pizza, to replace those lost to the unusual cause of a 'Seinfeld' marathon.

Right now, it felt like he was shopping for Choji, which out of all good intentions, he wasn't gonna let into his kitchen without a tour guide. He didn't want his snacks pilfered twice in a row.

Naruto wandered through the streets looking for his favorite deli Jiraiya, Anko and Iruka often took him too to get ice cream and what not whenever he was feeling peckish. When he eventually did find it, running down the steady incline of the hill leading into the lower districts of Konohagakure, he found the most peculiar sight sitting on the side of the road.

Since getting back home, the young Jonin had not seen Mia anywhere over the past couple of days. Understandably enough, a couple of his other friends and guests were nowhere to be seen either, as they had gone out on long-term missions, including Ryoko and Haku, leaving the house shockingly quiet and, without a doubt, tidier. For that matter, a lot of other people seemed to have disappeared, including Gai, Lee, Zabuza and Isarabi… they just… up and vanished. However, that wasn't of major concern. The absence of the Sage of Six Paths on the other hand struck him kind of strange.

That was until he spotted the said red head sharing a split Popsicle with a strange, raven haired woman wearing a black cloak right next to his frequented deli. The pair were giggling and chatting animatedly, and if Naruto's lip-reading skills were accurate at this hour, they were talking about a farmer and his long lost crossbow.

Wait… that wasn't right…

No.

They were commenting on each other's hair.

Naruto watched Mia suckle on her treat like it were a lollipop, and playfully giggle, while the raven haired girl just smiled back at her in kind. Since they were distracted so, they didn't notice him till a couple minutes later when they felt a pair of eyes locked onto them. It sure as heck came as a jump start for the both of them.

"N-Naruto-sama!" Mia exclaimed, smiling brilliantly, as she always did in that all too familiar manner. "Shopping?"

"Oh… y-yeah…" Naruto smiled, before turning to look at the dark haired woman Mia was talking to. When he recognized the distinct outline of nose, chin, and lips to be frighteningly too familiar to the once common Uchiha, he also took considerable note of the eyes. Black irises, with red pupils flashing under the shadows of hair; the sight literally had him drop his bag of shopping. "YOU!"

"Uzumaki…"

Before the woman could even continue, Naruto was on top of the bench, grabbing hold of the collar of her cloak and holding a hidden blade right over her eye.

Mia was quite stunned at the speed and sudden aggressiveness her savior had towards her new friend, while Yukari was looking as though she had been expecting this, and didn't flinch at all. The blonde, in the meantime, was seething so much; he was dangerously close to actually killing the person sitting right in front of him.

"Give me one good reason for me not to rip those eyes of yours out of their sockets," Naruto growled.

"I haven't finished my popsicle," Yukari simply replied with a small smile, pulling her treat back up to her lips and licking it casually. She then offered it to him. "Want to share?"

"Don't joke!" Naruto snapped, earning a giggle from the woman when she felt his grip around her tighten.

"I expected you to be a lot more unperturbed at this point in time _Nightwalker_, and perhaps a little bit more open to discussion before taking action to unsavory situations. Maybe I dropped back a little bit too far in your life for you to be acting like that," Yukari replied as though it were an ordinary thing for her. She simply shrugged, taking another lick of her dessert. "But… that's a mistake I am willing to live with."

"Too many people already know who I am and what I do in secret. I don't need another one running around, particularly a rogue Uchiha," Naruto stated, moving his blade in an extra millimeter to enhance his point. "You've been interfering in my affairs for some time, haven't you? I'm not sure exactly how long, but that's an irrelevant question. So… let me ask you this, how much do you know about me, exactly?"

"Well, I know you were: born on October 10th, are thirteen years old, blood type B, height 148.5 centimeters and that your weight is 41.0 kilograms. I also know that you: graduated from the Ninja Academy at age 12, by which point you were already of Chunin level skill and higher, and are presently a newly appointed Jonin of Konohagakure, the jinchuriki of the Nine Tailed Demon Fox, and are a part of the Uzumaki Clan, now thought to be extinct. You yourself have restarted the clan, and are happily married to Sakura Haruno, Hinata Hyuuga, Anko Mitarashi, Tayuya…"

"Wait! Married?" Naruto blinked in surprised. "I'm not married!"

"Oh, whoops! Sorry! Three years too early," Yukari double backed clumsily, and giggled feverishly in an effort to cover her blunder. "See… time jumping isn't always accurate… I could have ended up back in the _Second Great Shinobi War_…"

Naruto gritted his teeth and, rather reluctantly, withdrew his arm and weapon. "You are an Uchiha, and formerly a member of my father's team. But other then that, I know nothing about you… or whether you are a threat to me…"

"Naruto-sama!" Mia butted in lightly with a cute smile, catching the boy's attention. "Yukari-chan is a friend. She doesn't mean us any harm…"

"Really?" Naruto queried before looking back, and was shocked to find that Yukari was no longer sitting in front of him or in his grasp.

He looked around wildly for a second or so, eventually turning around to find Yukari walking towards them out of the deli, carrying a couple of cartons of milk and self-frozen ice cream. She took her time getting back to them; gathering up Naruto's dropped grocery bags and items, and carrying them over to the bench. Despite the confrontation they had just had, she offered the blonde an ice-cream with a cheerful smile and a nod, ignoring any ill will or action.

Prospects of winning a head-long battle with the Uchiha vanishing in an instant, the blonde took the ice-cream he was offered with a grin of his own, and plopped himself down right next to Mia, making room for Yukari to sit on his other side.

"Like I have a hope in hell in winning against one of Jiraiya's best students," Naruto exclaimed, unwrapping the cornetto. Yukari giggled, while unwrapping her own ice-cream and pocketing the trash.

"Student. Genin. Jiraiya-sensei… heh. All that seemed so long ago now…" Yukari mused, while getting to work on her frozen delight. "Jiraiya-sensei… Minato-kun… Jin-kun… I haven't seen them in ages…"

"You knew my dad best," Naruto said suddenly, looking up at Yukari while Mia enjoyed the rest of her Popsicle in the background, the expressions she was making obviously out of sheer enjoyment. "Now that I've confirmed you are the perverted hermit's previous apprentice, I just have to ask. What was my dad like? I mean to you?"

"Well…" Yukari began, looking up in thought. "I remember… back when we were Genin, I thought he was the most handsome, carefree boy I had ever laid eyes on. Actually, he kind of reminds me of you now…" The woman looked down at him with a grin. "Without Kushina's little quirks of course…"

"Quirks?"

"Yup: the _Red Hot-Blooded Habanero's_ little quirks that made her famous all across the lands. The outbursts, the constant denials whenever you are caught with your pants down, the arguing, the 'too nice' aspect about your personality, the cooking… the ramen…" Yukari thought a bit more, digging up everything she knew. "Actually, both Kushina and Minato loved ramen. There's also the blabbering, the _dattebayo_ catch phrase, the peeping…"

"Hey! I don't peep!" Naruto argued back.

"Wait. That's about a few months early for you. Don't worry. It'll start coming naturally. Trust me, you'll love it," the woman grinned back at him. He was about to protest, but was effectively cut off from an argument when the Uchiha started speaking again. "It was about a few months into our time as Genin on _Team Jiraiya_ that we _really_ started to connect, particularly your father with the three of us. He made the biggest effort to make peace amongst us, and quickly formed the bonds that held us together."

"Of course, there was also the influence of our team leader that helped us become the shinobi that we were to become, and _are_ today. Jiraiya-sensei would teach us things we didn't know about the shinobi world, have us learn the values of teamwork in completely different ways, as well as take us down to the hot springs, and teach us about _researching_ and writing… and not getting caught while doing both. It was… the most fun I had ever had in my entire life."

"My team was the closest thing I ever had to a family… and your father's sensibility and kindness helped that feeling of belonging along…"

"Mmm… so I've figured out for myself this far into my life…" Naruto chuckled.

"You know what it's like, Naruto-kun," Yukari smiled. "Your mother and father died protecting you when you were little, and as a result, you never had the chance to meet them or spend any time with them. Yet… you still found people who you could call family, and were closer to them then anyone else. Your team, Jiraiya-sensei, Anko-sensei… even Mia-chan…" She gestured to the girl chewing on her ice-cream stick.

Naruto considered the red-head, who childishly giggled and, after hopping off of the chair, began chasing after butterflies. Of course, that little line between childishness and screws-loose with Mia was kind of transparent at the moment, making the young Jonin rethink his statues of thought of the young woman.

"I still think she's just a figment of my imagination…" Naruto shook his head, returning to his ice-cream. "However, I see your point. Everyone I know, my friends, my teammates, my comrades… they are people I really care about. But that doesn't mean I don't love my parents, I do… and I am grateful for all their sacrifices."

"I loved your parents too. Heh… more then you would ever know. However, on the other hand…" Yukari chuckled, flashing her Sharingan at him. "After your father and mother's deaths, and after Jin went off in search of a new purpose in life… I wasn't able to find anymore time to make anymore friends… yet got lost in the days that passed me by…"

Naruto looked at her eyes for a moment, giving them a one good go over before shrugging his shoulders and turning away. "The eyes of the elder student, hmm. I can see why Mia has grown so attached to you…"

There was a brief moment of pause, with the pair just sitting comfortably on the bench, finishing off their ice-cream, while Mia continued to try and catch butterflies. The free spirited girl eventually lost interest in the little winged critters, and instead, dropped down on all fours and began following ants as they crawled along the ground. Though people were a bit perplexed by the sight, it wasn't an uncommon occurrence.

Shino was often seen around town crawling after ants, trying to get back one of his friends they had taken from him in force.

Anyway, back to the main plot…

"Who exactly are you, Yukari?" Naruto questioned, furrowing his brow at her. "You know so much about me, inside and outside of my life. You're not on an opposing side of a chessboard, yet you were one of Jiraiya's disciples, and you certainly aren't a pushover."

"To be honest I have no clue as to who I really am," the woman shook her head, looking at him with a teeth-biting-the-lower-lip expression. "I guess, if you want to find out who I am, it is determining my purpose in life, and _that_ I believe is to prevent the Day of Judgment from arriving too soon…"

"Judgment?"

"The end of the world, _Naruto_," Yukari murmured, leaning in a bit so that she could whisper the last part to him. Her amusement and calm expression dropped to a more serious tone that had Naruto listen more intently. "The coming of the Akatsuki's storm…"

"Ah…" Naruto nodded his head in understanding. "You're not one of them are you?"

"Did you read that scroll Miki gave you? Of course I'm not…"

"W-Wait. Back up! The scroll?" It took a few seconds for him to summarize the details from her snappy reply. "Y-You gave that to _her_… to give to _me_?"

The Uchiha nodded affirmatively, confirming the boys shock.

After giving the woman a puzzled look, Naruto considered her and her words for a moment, not completely set with the idea of trusting her so readily. However, there was still a lot to drink in.

He turned back to look ahead of him, ignoring Mia as she crawled passed them. "Hunting down the Akatsuki was one of my main goals in life, and was a huge chore for me for the longest time… taking me months if not years of scrounging and infiltrating. I've done things that nearly got me killed on more then one occasion, yet… in all that time, was only able to find trivial things, like shoe sizes and mission specifications for particular individuals, most of which had been censored. However…"

Naruto pointed at her. "…_you_ were able to get _all_ of the Akatsuki's names, details and ranks just like _that_!" He snapped his fingers.

"Consider it a gift for years of blood, sweat and tears," Yukari replied. "You wouldn't believe how many rules I had to break to get a hold of that information…"

"By the way… thanks very much for it." The blonde shrugged his shoulders and turned away. "I relayed the Intel to Ero-Sennin. He told me he would be taking a closer look into it and to those involved in their organization," the young Jonin informed, the pair sharing a quick glance in their discussion. "Not to recap on past details intentionally, but I have to say… Itachi… Kisame… Deidara… Sasori… Kakuza… all these people aren't ordinary shinobi. They are legendary ninja, incredibly powerful; capable of taking down entire battalions of regular ninja, yet hide in the shadows in spite of their tremendous power. Heck, I'd even go so far as to say each one of the Akatsuki's members I've read about from that scroll so far, are even more powerful then Orochimaru."

"Yup. Not even I would consider facing off against all of them," Yukari stated, glaring ahead of her from underneath the strands of her hair. Her eyes reflected her seriousness on the situation. "I may be one of Konoha's _Elite Four_, but there's no way I can take on more then three of them at once… I'd be killed. Heck, fighting both Itachi and Kisame a few days back had me worried…"

"Wait, you fought them both?" Naruto asked, blinking in astonishment.

"Don't get me wrong, it would have been a pretty even fight if they went full pelt at me from the get-go. Although I still would have won, the fact that they didn't want to start a war with Konoha meant that they were holding back so not to draw attention to themselves," Yukari smirked. "I doubt the other members of Akatsuki, if they had been present at the time, would have shown that exact same courtesy…"

"Well, from all the ninja I've met so far, you're one of the only one's out there capable of dealing with them. Other then you, there's Pervy Sage, probably Baa-chan after some serious drilling, Kisarabi, though she is kind of _off_ the shogi board for now, Killer Bee, and Old Man Third. If my mum and dad were still alive, then that would make eight, including you, geez," Naruto sighed, rubbing his face as he looked around. Knowing how powerful the most well-known duo on the Akatsuki were, he knew he had a steep mountain to climb before he even had a chance of taking them on. "I nearly died fighting against the Three-Tailed Giant Turtle, yet to these guys, the tailed beasts are nothing! They hunt them down for a living for crying out loud!"

"Still, to be able to take down a Tailed Beast… that's impressive," Yukari chuckled, leaning forward a bit, smiling at the kid. "I hope the information I was able to give you was insightful…"

"Yeah, sure. It was a real giggle," Naruto muttered sarcastically, his head dropping animatedly, "As if I didn't have enough on my plate to deal with already. Now, instead of four people out to get me, I now know I have ten of these insanely powerful psychopaths, out to get the thing sleeping in my stomach…"

"Well, you'd better keep training hard, because it's going to be one hell of a hike for you," Yukari patted him on the back, and rose to her feet. "Bare in mind though; don't try going after any of them. As I told you before, they will eventually come for you…"

"Huh?"

"They hunt in pairs, and are more effective against huge groups of ninja when fighting together rather then apart," Yukari informed, reaching up and pulling her hood over her head. "Each one of them is worth an army and they are the most seasoned shinobi you will ever encounter in your lifetime. Some of them use well-honed skills alone in combat, others use techniques that defy nature, but ultimately, they aren't invincible."

Naruto looked up at her, watching as the woman smiled comfortingly from underneath the shadows of her hood. "They are breaking up at the moment, apparently from problems arising amidst their ranks. That should give you and your friends some time to prepare yourselves…"

"…"

Yukari grinned at him and saluted.

"I've got some other business to attend to. Glad I got the time frame right," she said while turning heel, preparing to march down the road. "I'm sure to enjoy our next encounter…"

"Wait, Yukari…" Naruto rose to his feet, rather hastily. His actions caused her to stop for a moment. "Why are you here… _really_? You know so much, yet you're still withholding important facts from me."

The woman remained silent for a minute, letting the atmosphere sink in. Eventually, she turned to look at him, her eyes flickering.

"There's one other thing I am allowed to say to you before I go. But I can guarantee, you will not like it," the Uchiha began, enticing the blonde's curiosity even further. When she did speak several seconds later, the answer shook the boy from head to toe.

"The one, who will carve the paths that will either lead to the destruction of the world or its salvation, will not be me, or Akatsuki, or the man who walks in the shadows… it'll be _you_…"

Naruto blinked, seeing the half-smile from the woman.

"You'll be meeting _yourself_ soon enough…"

She then suddenly faded into nothingness right before his very eyes, as if she never existed.

* * *

_**Elsewhere…**_

_**In the catacombs of Otogakure…**_

The Snake Sannin chuckled and hacked out coughs in excitement, as he watched the tube in front of him empty of its contents, before slowly rise, revealing the figure kneeling limply at its base. His main base's experimental and cloning chamber was a bubbling with a mixture of excitement, curiosity, fear and uncertainty. Though Orochimaru was certain of his success, the Sound Four, Yoroi and Misumi, who were all present, weren't as enthusiastic about the project as he was.

The mists clouded around them as the heat of the clone feed gushed out all at once, the silhouette of the figure from that tube staggering to its feet. While the others were still dormant, this one was alive and well, and caused the Sannin to grin all the more.

"Ahh… _she_ is ready…" Orochimaru chuckled, brushing strands of hair away from his face to better assess his first subject. "A promising candidate…"

The person staggered out of the fog and steam, and came to stand, in all her naked glory, before the black hearted villain. While the man marveled his prize, Yoroi smiled with relief that the subject was able to stand, and Tayuya elbowed Sakon and Jirobo in the stomach when they started getting a bit too frisky.

Misumi stepped forward and checked the girl over for the Sannin, testing her eyes, checking her throat and testing her reflexes. The would-be medic gave her a once over, before stepping back to give his report.

"The clone is physically fine, however… I recommend that we first give her a field test, before we decide her fate," Misumi spoke, smirking. Orochimaru considered the young man's suggestion, and nodded in agreement.

"Why yes. We wouldn't want a defective unit guarding me, and posing as one of my best when she has some unsavory defects, now would we?" Orochimaru stepped forward, running his hand through the young girl's hair. She was only thirteen years old. However, the Sannin made her out to be a Goddess in human form by how he admired her. "Yes… I'll give her a task… a simple one…"

Licking his lips, he then reached back into a pouch and pulled out a kunai. Twirling it once in his one good hand, he then held it out to the young girl, who took it without hesitation, and weighed it in her own grip.

"Now… _**Naruko**_… I have… two errands I need you to perform for me…"

The young girl with the blonde hair, tanned, flawless skin, shapely figure, and whiskers crossing her cheeks, looked up towards her master. Piercing blue eyes framing a emotionless faze, gazed up at the Sannin for but a moment. That was before they suddenly flashed red, and a sly smile crossed her lips.

"I am at your service… Lord Orochimaru…"

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	50. Shadows Converge

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Shadows Converge_

_**One week later…**_

_**Far Outside of the Land of Wind, **_a quiet and peaceful landscape of forests, mountains, cliffs and lowland valleys strewed the outskirts and parts unknown. Although the various roads, lakes and rivers frequented traveling caravans and convoys, it was a relatively untouched place, save for a small village atop of one of the many cliff formations, far out of reach of ordinary travelers. The situation of the town certainly meant that invasion or attacks by foreign forces was made difficult, yet held a breathtaking view of the land all around.

Oddly enough, it was deserted.

Further down towards the lowlands, wedged between two cliff faces, there sat quite an unusual structure. The remains of a giant mechanical tower that appeared to have moved on halftracks of gargantuan size, sat in the middle of the valley. On first glance, any curious onlookers would have seen an immediate, majestic design to it of late 1800's industrial design work. But to call it majestic at this point was a bit of an overstatement.

The structure had been ripped it two, and looked as though several sections of the two halves had suffered extreme internal combustions that, not only were there huge craters present, but also huge slabs of metallic walls and twisted metal sat or hung from different area stretching over a hundred meters in all directions. Parts of the former tower created an almost nightmarish vision of Salvador Dali's _Persistence of Memory, _while the rest was just a crumpled wreck.

One section of a half that remained intact served as an almost cave formation situated next to one of the larger craters. The once quaint and sound hallways that made up the interior, was now but a skeleton stretching out from the archway of charred, melted steel.

To think that any life could be sustained in such an area of post-destruction was simply unfathomable.

But, out of the silence, there broke voices.

"What's taking Hikita-sama so long?" the voice of a girl spoke.

Sitting outside of the colossal fossil of the tower's bottom half remains, there sat three unknown strangers. Three kids to be exact around thirteen years of age each, and all of them dressed in attire that best distinguished them as shinobi of unknown origin. Two of the kids were sitting on the huge boulders of concrete clustering the ground, while another stood as if on guard, close to the entrance to the structure's catacombs.

The one who stood silently by the cave entrance was none other then Eclipse, the missing-nin from Kirigakure with the unusual diet, working for Yukari. He still adorned his headband from his village of origin, and wore the same black clothes and sunglasses. The lack of a scratch on his headwear symbolized that he was not at all interested in village classification whatsoever, and simply continued wearing his characteristic clothes, and the glass gourd filled with smoke strapped to his back, for the sake of style.

The other two ninja present were also from Kirigakure. The one sitting closest to him was the girl, leaning against an angled slab of concrete, and staring ahead of her with an expression mirroring Eclipse's. She had orange frazzled, unruly hair, which came down around her face in long curls. She also had sharp green eyes devoid of emotion, as well as a sharp nose and chin, and had very tanned skin. Furthermore, the kunoichi wore a plain white kimono robe that hugged loose at her upper body and shoulders, revealing quite a well-endowed chest despite her age. She also had incredibly long, white sheets wrapped around her arms and legs, which hung like scarves. To conclude her pale exterior, she had a tattoo plastered on her forehead that formed the Kirigakure village symbol, with the Uzumaki clan symbol also plastered over it.

The other person present and sitting across from them was also a young girl of the same age, with dark black hair that was about three inches long all over. She had incredibly pale skin, was athletically built, and wore a blood red trench coat with short sleeves over a dark green martial arts tunic and khaki pants. Wooden sandals adorned her feet, with the Kirigakure headband wrapped around her neck. To compliment her outfit, gauze bands were wrapped around her arms and around her head and face, almost mummifying her in those areas. Light purple eyes stared down at the object in her hand, which turned out to be a cheeseburger she was devouring.

A pouch at her side contained several more wrapped burgers.

The orange haired girl sitting on the concrete boulder looked up at her teammate with a blank expression. After watching her down her first cheeseburger, she couldn't help but speak up.

"How can you eat so many?"

Swallowing the gruel in her mouth, the rather hot blooded character looked back over at her usually stoic companion.

"I have to. It's the price I have to pay for my jutsu, otherwise I'll pass out every time I use it," the girl snapped back, taking another bite. "What about you, Ai? Do you have a price needing to be paid?"

"None…" The girl designated Ai replied. "Only you can have such an unfortunate contract, Yurie…"

The girl developed a tick-mark and looked away with a huff. "Whatever… at least I'll never get fat…" She emphasized this point by gulping down the entire burger in one go and sucking on each one of her fingers in turn. "As far as I'm concerned, neither you nor Eclipse-kun can eat anything…"

Ai looked up at the boy next to her, wondering if he registered to the statement. The raven haired boy's glasses flashed as he looked from one girl to the other, before shrugging his shoulders indefinitely.

"I'm a carnivore by nature…" he replied in a monotone voice. "Meat…"

"Ah…" Ai replied, looking away again. "Me…? Water…"

"You guys are so boring!" Yurie whined, pulling out a third burger.

For the next few minutes they sat in silence. That was until a shadow from the cave alerted them to the presence of their team leader, and all those seated rose to their feet. Once they were up, they watched as Hikita, the Goliath, rogue ninja from the _Village Hidden in the Mist_, walk out into the open. With his sword strapped to his back and right arm protruding a couple more green stones, he approached his team with an unreadable expression in play.

His team however, could see he was looking quite impatient.

"Is something wrong, Hikita-sensei?" Yurie asked, the other two Genin giving their master their utmost attention.

He looked up towards them, brow furrowed and lips pursed tightly together, showing them that something was bothering him.

"The prisoners still refuse to give me the necessary information I need," Hikita replied, holding up his metallic gauntlet. "They tell me that a single piece of the _Stone of Gelel_ will lead me back to its only remaining source. I have six refined stones of the powerful mineral, yet they give me nothing…" He lowered his braced arm, frowning. "Apparently, the _Vein of Gelel_ is protected by some sort of seal that prevents it from being found so easily…"

"Maybe you are not the wielder the stone responds to…" Eclipse inputted.

"Only those practiced in utilizing their inheritance can properly guide you to its source," Ai concluded, taking in all accounts for her master's situation. "You cannot make bricks without clay or the proper tools required for the task, master…"

"Maybe," the large ninja replied, looking back towards the cave he had just come out of. "Yukari-sama told me that _one carved with the piece of Gelel would help lead me to the source_. However, after a year of jabbing at those who had the stones implanted inside of them… nothing. Not even that boy, who seems to have the strongest connection to the stone and the people who once mined them, knows of the tomb's exact location."

"Give them some time, master," Yurie exclaimed, placing her hands behind her head and grinning up at the big swordsman. "I'm sure one of them will crack."

Hikita smiled and nodded back to her, before taking leave with his crew in tow. The three Genin followed the rogue shinobi, taking the same path that they had used to access this twisted fortress of theirs, numerous times before. Though this was only one of their hideouts, this _one_ was particularly held in high regard by the Kiri ninja.

"The _Vein of Gelel_ played a significant part in the time stream Yukari spoke of, which will occur some time in the foreseeable future," Hikita stated with a small frown. "Though she didn't reveal anything specific, I'm assuming the stone will help boost our power against our enemies…"

As they were walking down the incline leading up to the cave beside the huge crater, they suddenly became aware of small footsteps hopping towards them. The sound of padding paws alerted the group, and they looked to their right towards the ridgeline of upturned earth beside them.

From behind an upturned rock, a light brown ferret with red eyes suddenly leapt out from its shadows and lunged at the swordsman. It bit the man on the arm and held its place, dangling from his skin.

For a few seconds the three Genin stared at the mammal, with Hikita giving it no irked glances whatsoever. Instead, he gave it an expression of indifference, and simply plucked it from his limb, and held it up in front of him by the back of its neck.

Watching it squirm and try to lash out at him with its claws, the swordsman frowned. "Oye… knock it off you little rat. This is the third time…" He placed the ferret on the ground and watched it run away, quickly bounding along the winding path, before reaching the ridge line ahead of the group, and stopping to glare at them.

However, what caught the team's attention was not the ferret's aggressive hiss and its glare, but the two towering silhouettes directly behind it.

Hikita rose to his feet when he caught the telltale signs of black cloaks with red cloud patterns with white outlines. The long coats trailed in the wind as the two figures glared down towards the rogue Hidden Mist shinobi, one being the taller of the two with orange spiky hair, and the other who was slightly shorter, but had parted blue hair with a paper origami flower slipped into it.

Both figure paid the ferret no mind as it scampered off, and instead, glared towards the Kiri Team.

"That's Hikita, rogue ninja from Kirigakure, and former member of the _Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist_," Konan informed, glancing towards her teammate. "Orders?"

"Simple," Yahiko began with his usual monotone voice. "Proceed as directed, and eliminate threat…"

* * *

_**Konohagakure…**_

_**Hokage's Office…**_

"How are you taking to your new home?" Naruto asked, lying casually back in the chair across from the new leader of the Hidden Leaf. Tsunade, sake on her left and piles of paper on her right, just gave the boy that characteristic smile she often wore, as well as that quirk of an eyebrow.

"I have to say, it's been quite a while since I was last in the village, it's taking some getting used to," the blonde Sannin exclaimed, throwing her hands behind her head and leaning back in her big chair and spinning round on it so she was facing side on to him and the window behind her at the same time. "I mean, I've only been here for like… what… one day, and already, I'm noticing things! So many aspects of this place has changed; street names, addresses, buildings, landmarks. Hey… there used to be only three of em' up on that mountain!" The woman emphasized her point by thumping up towards a painting of the Hokage monument hanging on the wall to her right.

Naruto addressed the picture with a smirk and a nod of his head. "It's a shame dad wasn't around for long…"

"Yeah… he was a great kid, very handsome," Tsunade chuckled before looking back over at the Jonin sitting across from her. "So many people I used to know from this village are both dead and buried, are too old to even remember me, or have moved… it's kind of hard. You, your two girlfriends, sensei and the old goat are… like, the only people I really know from this village. Well, I did bump into Shikaku, the Jonin Commander… I remember him well… very quiet and lazy guy if I'm drawing the right file…"

"Oh… you have no idea," Naruto shook his head as he remembered his past experiences with Shikaku. "The man, in all manner of Sloth and sluggishness, is a genius, perhaps the smartest Jonin I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. We play Shogi once every, at least, four months. He beats me every time, like Shikamaru. But then, when we play poker up at ANBU headquarters whenever he stops by, I win him out of house and home. I did so in my last game and tsk… boy, did he get a mouthful from Mrs. Nara when he got home!"

"You know a lot of people, huh?" the new Hokage mused.

Naruto grinned at her and held up his bingo book, waving it in front of her. "I get around."

"I'm curious…" Tsunade turned back to him and propped her elbows on her desk, and plopped her head on her hands. "You never told me how you became a Jonin in the first place. We had all that time to chat on our way over here, but the matter towards your status as a ninja never came to mine. What prompted such a promotion anyway? Did you defeat an entire army of enemy shinobi?"

"No…"

"Defeat a Jonin in combat, fair and square?"

"No…" _"Where in the world is she going with this?"_

"Did you sleep with the Third Hokage's secretary?" This comment had Tsunade raise an eyebrow, and had both ANBU hiding up in the ceiling come crashing down into the room through the panels when they fell over in shock.

"W-What? NO!"

"Did it have something to do with the invasion?"

"Sure, you just _had_ to work your way up to it," Naruto threw his arms in the air. In the meantime, the two ANBU stationed in the office's ceiling, disappeared back to their posts.

"So it was what you did during the invasion," Tsunade smirked. "This ought to be an interesting story."

"Yeah, a story I'm sure to be telling my twenty-eight kids some day," Naruto sighed, running his hand over his face. "Basically there were three factions that participated in the invasion of Konohagakure: Sunagakure, Otogakure, and rogue ninja from Kirigakure. I fought with one of the Missing Nin from Kirigakure…"

"Hm. That doesn't seem like much of an accomplishment. I fought five ANBU one time while hog-tied."

"Bravo. Oh, did I mention that the person I was fighting was the former-Forth Mizukage?"

"Yagura? Are you serious?" Tsunade jaw almost went through the desk. She leant over, staring at her favorite blonde as if he had grown two extra heads and three extra arms.

"Yup! And in full Tailed-Beast mode too! Man, did he drive me up a wall. Not to mention he was vicious head-to-head when not transformed," Naruto exclaimed, scratching the back of his head. "After I defeated him, I wound up in hospital for several days again, and got promoted to Jonin for my accomplishments. Not to mention our victory over the attackers solidified an alliance between, not only Suna and Konoha, but also with Kiri."

"Wow. You never have a boring day, do you?" the Sannin grinned.

Naruto wagged his eyebrows knowingly at the woman across from him. "I'm sure I'll be having another interesting one today."

"You got it!" Tsunade reached into her cabinet next to her and tossed him a mission scroll, which he caught without fault. "I have an interesting mission for you, one that'll probably take you away from Konoha for a few days. It was a recommendation by my former teacher specifically for you, just to train you up for future Jonin work. There's been a ninja causing some trouble in the _Land of Hot Baths_ and the _Land of Honey_, and I need you to go and settle… whoever it is causing the ruckus…"

"Sure…" the blonde weighed the scroll in his hand. "Shouldn't be too much trouble."

"There's also some strange activity going on over by the borders of the _Land of Wind_… you could go check it out on your way back," Tsunade said while leaning back in her chair. She gave the whole situation and her position a moment of thought, before directing a more serious look towards the blonde across from her.

"Konohagakure is just recovering from a three-pronged invasion by our closest neighbors. The last thing we need are missing nin going around, causing trouble for our allies while we're in the process of rebuilding," Tsunade said, lacing her fingers together and staring vacantly across at the blonde as if he knew everything she was thinking. She was all sharpened knives and pitchforks at this point. "We have to show that we are still strong, and to do so, we must command authority over troublemakers."

"A possible bounty?" Naruto queried with a smile. "It'll be a great excuse for me to wear my mask again…"

"Do what you will with our backyard bully." The woman's thumbs twiddled rhythmically. "See to it that another name gets crossed out of your bingo book."

"Sure…" Naruto rose to his feet, grinning. "I'll wrap the body up and mail it to you…"

"Please don't."

"Okay…" The blonde exclaimed, saluting. However, it felt a little weird and he tried a wave, but that didn't work him either. He shook his head. "Damn… how do I say good-bye in this situation?" At that moment Shizune decided to walk in, carrying more files, scrolls, and Tonton in her arms. By the time she reached the desk, she was already in the middle of the questions being thrown between the two.

"We're friends… or… master and student… or… family… damn, it's kind of hard to decide… and I haven't been Hokage for a month to be receiving salutes from you just yet, otherwise it'd be… kind of strange between us…" Tsunade scratched her nose a little.

"A bow is too cliché, a kiss is too familiar, a fist bump is for bros, and a hand shake is too formal…" Naruto went through the list.

"And a hug is like a… public dry hump," Tsunade inputted, she thought, helpfully. This comment however, had Naruto and Shizune stare at the older woman oddly.

After a second, Shizune shook her head to throw herself out of reverie.

"I think you're hugging wrong, Tsunade-sama…"

* * *

_**Back at the tower wreckage…**_

"Akatsuki?" Eclipse murmured.

"It appears our outpost has been compromised," Ai stated, glancing towards Hikita, who was staring at the two cloaked figures with an annoyed glare. "Orders, master…"

"Just give me a moment to assess the situation," the swordsman began, looking the two shinobi over carefully. Recognizing their faces in the Akatsuki profiles that Yukari managed to scrounge up for them, he was able to determine the odds of success against failure in combat with particular individuals. These two of course, were featured prominently in the files on the most dangerous ninja out there. "I believe bad luck is the main cause for this; these two happening to show up on our turf so suddenly. Geez… this will be annoying…"

A fierce wind unexpectedly picked up, blowing at Konan and Yahiko's clothes and ruffling them. The orange haired Akatsuki member reached up with his hand and pushed some bangs of hair out of his face, while glaring at the missing ninja standing before him.

"Nagato mentioned there was some strange activity occurring in this area… tales of green lights and unearthly tremors," Yahiko spoke, earning a nod from Konan. "I never expected to find one of the _Seven Ninja Swordsmen_ of Kirigakure here…"

"And I never expected to meet the leader of the Hidden Rain Village out here either," Hikita spoke up, looking the man dead in the eyes as both sides stood each other down. "Yahiko: former leader and one of the founders of the original Akatsuki Organization, a double S-Class shinobi, specializing in Water Release techniques and kenjutsu, and a highly inspired leader recognized by Amegakure's populace as the _**God of Storms**_. Your name gets thrown around just as much as Hanzo's. Of course, things didn't go too well for you during the civil war, did they?"

"A minor… _inconvenience_," Yahiko murmured, choosing to respond calmly. "We won that war, and brought peace and prosperity to our homeland. Now that it is over, our new purpose is to bring peace to the rest of the world, so that everyone else may bask in the light we have brought to Amegakure. As its leader and protector, I have a duty to the village's people, with responsibilities that extend far beyond its borders…"

"Funny you should mention that," Hikita grinned. "Bringing peace to the world is, without a doubt, a noble cause. But that is _your_ goal… the famed _Kiri Trio's_ goal. According to my sources, that meticulous prospect isn't completely shared by the person who is really running your freak show… is it?" Yahiko and Konan visibly flinched at this mention, with the rogue swordsman chuckling in response. "This leader of yours, this _Pein… _he's just a puppet-leader for the one really pulling the strings…"

Yahiko furrowed his brow, stepping forward for a more upfront confrontation. The three Genin accompanying Hikita leapt in front of him, taking up a defensive formation. But, before the orange haired village leader could take more then five steps, Konan stopped him. Feeling the hand grabbing his shoulder, the Kage glanced back at his teammate, who was giving him a serious glare.

"Mind your actions, Yahiko," Konan whispered, both of them turning back to the enemy, the swordsman reaching up for the weapon on his back the moment he saw one of them move. "He managed to whisk away the Three-Tailed Beast from Madara's control himself… he's powerful…"

"So am I…" Yahiko murmured back, gently pulling his cloak from her grip and stepping forward again. "Past issues behind us, why don't we move on to more important matters?"

"I couldn't agree more," Hikita stated, grabbing his sword's handle. "You're trespassing on my property. I advice you to leave at once, _Akatsuki scum_…"

Just as he was making a grab for his sword, a sudden tremor passed through his entire body, the shock resulting in the man instead, collapsing to his right knee and clutching his chest. Coughing a few times, Hikita clamped his hand over his mouth, and when he removed it, saw blood splattered over his palm. The sight had him glare a few moments in annoyance, his Genin team looking back briefly to check on him.

"Your body is still damaged from the invasion, Hikita-sama," Eclipse informed, glaring across at the two Akatsuki, who were readying themselves for battle. "You should retreat, let us handle them…"

"I won't argue there," Hikita murmured, glaring up at his three students. Glancing from them to the two demon hunters, the swordsman rose to his feet and glanced over at Ai. "Eclipse and Yurie… deal with them. Ai, you come with me…"

"Yes sir…" the orange haired girl leapt back, coming to stand in front of her leader. Throwing both her arms out, the gauze wrapped around her arms shot out of her sleeve in incredibly long sheets, which curled through the air around both of them, encasing them in a fluttering barrier of cloth. Forming a series of hand signs, sealing tattoos formed along the sheets, and moments later, a white cloud exploded around them and engulfed them and the material.

Once the cloud dissipated, they were gone.

"A reverse summoning technique…" Konan spoke.

"You should be worrying more about us instead of them, they are long gone now," Yurie spoke up, drawing the Akatsuki duo's attention to her. When their eyes latched back onto the boy and girl standing a distance of about thirty meters from their position, the pair observed as she began to unwrap the bandages around her arms. Once they were unfurled, they fell to the floor into heaps of bloodstained material.

That wasn't the most appealing part of it.

Along both her arms all the way up to her shoulders where the trench coat's sleeve cuffs were, her arms were covered in scars and lashes. Against her pale skin, they were like crescent marks crisscrossing her limbs, giving her the appearance of a well-seasoned shinobi. Once she revealed her arms, she held her right up out and directed her wrist upwards, smirking at the couple.

"I believe that it is common courtesy that combatants should introduce one another on the battlefield, as it may possibly be their first and last encounters, especially for us shinobi," Yurie grinned. "I am Yurie Kaguya: Genin formerly of Kirigakure, and one of the last of the Kaguya Clan, famed for its Kekkei Genkai _Shikotsumyaku_."

"I am Eclipse: former Genin of Kirigakure, known as the _**Black Death**_…" the boy replied, stepping back a bit and holding both his arms out. Thick smoke began to waft out from under his sleeves, like his clothes were on fire, but formed sheathed around his arms.

"Yahiko: Leader of the Hidden Rain Village and former leader of Akatsuki," the tallest of the pair spoke up, thrusting his right arm out, a large Dao blade shooting out from under his sleeve. His hand caught the handle on its exit.

"Konan; Shinobi of Amegakure and assistant to the leader of the Hidden Rain Village and Akatsuki, respectively," the blue haired woman stated. Her emotionless tone of voice betrayed nothing to the Kiri Genin as she held both her arms out. Slips of paper began to peel away from her skin, as both her and her partner glared their opponents down.

Yurie smirked.

"Well… now that we all know each other…" Her eyes closed in a very frightening way, as it matched her sadistic smile. "We can start killing each other…"

There was but a moment of pause, until a rush of wind caught Yahiko by surprise, and he glanced behind him to see the girl right behind him, lunging with her arm extended towards him, aiming for a vital point blow from a blind spot. Konan spotted it to and reacted instinctively to her boyfriend's supposed plight, the slips of paper peeling from her hand suddenly reconstituting in her grip into a paper blade, which she lashed out at the girl's arm with.

Obviously, she attempted to slice off the girl's limb, only to grave it and cut into her artery. The splash of blood hit their robes as both Akatsuki parted and Yurie ended up striking the air space between them. Both Konan and Yahiko immediately took the high ground on the small inclines of cliffs around them, and they now both stood glaring down at the child below. When they saw the Kiri Genin land, blood began seeping out of her open wound profusely, dripping down her arm and fingers.

Despite its severity, she simply grinned and began giggling, the shadows of her hair covering the maniacal grin in her eyes.

"I was hoping for that…" she whispered, forming a couple of hand seals. "Now I can activate my jutsu…"

Konan and Yahiko blinked in surprise, noting the girl's attitude and lack of panic. However, that quickly vanished when she suddenly spoke out the name of her technique.

"_**Blood Release: Blood-Induced Matter Transportation."**_

All of a sudden, a shocking pain wracked at Yahiko's left shoulder and Konan suddenly staggered back, clutching her right arm. Both of them were knocked stumbling by a sudden sharp pinch, which turned into burning pain that both of them managed to hide. Looking at the areas of infliction, they discovered to their disbelief that the areas where the girl's blood had been splattered were simply gone, along with chunks of their own skin. The sight had them wracked with confusion.

Yurie laughed outright when she noticed her opponent's confusion and astonishment. She simply stood up to full height, and showed them the small stream of blood dripping down her arm.

"As a part of the Kaguya Clan, I have the ability to freely control the chemical and physical make-up of my skeletal structure, right down to each individual bone," she informed, grinning non stop, and twitching her fingers as extra emphasis. "However, my abilities are unfortunately differential in respect to my clan's bloody history. I became inflicted with a disease which caused my bone marrow to deteriorate, but thanks to my clan's Kekkei Genkai, I was saved. But as a result, I instead developed the innate ability to control my own blood at will, as well as produce infinite amounts for my disposal."

"Blood matter teleportation… an ability in which I can reduce any spilt blood and anything it is in contact with to _nothing_; effectively disintegrating the target area," Yurie giggled. "You will die here, by my hand…"

Before Konan could form any strategy of retaliation, a shadow behind her caught her attention, and she wheeled around just in time to see Eclipse, engulfed and riding on smoke, charging at her, hand extended forward and sunglasses flashing in the sunlight.

The speed and abilities the two Genin displayed to the two Akatsuki so far was inconceivable.

"Die…"

* * *

_**Konoha's West Gate…**_

Kotetsu and Izumo yawned simultaneously, as they both threw another couple of paper planes out the window of their post, and watched them sail through the air and land on the other side of the road. The sheer boredom they were forced to endure was enough for them to start various, random competitions, most of which involved origami. At the same time, they also made sure to keep an eye on the gate to see if anyone was coming or going from Konoha.

Feet kicked up onto the desk and most of the documents they once had on hand gone into producing their origami air force, all of which were lying in a huge pile on the other side of the road, it was pretty much routine for the eternal Chunins. They couldn't care less where they were or what they were doing, as long as they didn't have to work hard to be there.

"I win…" Kotetsu groaned, holding a hand out to his partner. "Pay up."

"Don't act so proud. That was clearly wind assisted," Izumo muttered, placing a total of five ryo in coins in the man's hand.

"I hope you're not talking about a pissing contest," a new voice entered the fray, causing both Chunin to jump back into attentive sitting positions.

When they looked over, they saw Naruto standing across from them with his hands in his pockets. He was wearing a black turtleneck sweater, dark orange pants, blue sandals, and his reversible trench coat, which was black on the outside, and white on the inside. Aside from his headband, he didn't seem to be carrying anything else other then the clothes on his back. The Chunin duo grinned, and waved or saluted the boy in kind; who simply returned their respectful gestures of greeting with an odd look over their antics.

"Yo! Naruto!" Kotetsu exclaimed.

"So… is it an A-Rank or B-Rank mission today?"

"B-Rank… apparently," Naruto handed them the document required for exiting Konoha under mission parameters. Izumo saw to it that the form was checked before stamping it, signing it, and then handing it back over to the blonde. "It's a quick job; just a hike on over to the border countries of the Land of Wind and back…"

"You know, I've only ever been to Suna three times since becoming Chunin," Kotetsu mused.

"Really? I've only been there twice."

"A pretty dull place, considering all four directions around the village consist of sand, sand, sand and…"

"Let me guess… _**sand**_?" Naruto replied with a small smile.

"Yup: a really hot, barren, featureless desert. But still…I have to admit, despite the featureless scenery, dry air, scorching sun and the endless terrains of sand, I just love the tanned girls that come out of that place," Kotetsu grinned and propped both his legs up on the desk, hands behind his head as he leaned back. Izumo, not wanting to hear another rant about what girls his friend was into, simply kicked the back legs of the chair Kotetsu was leaning on out from under him, which caused the Chunin to fall over in a hilarious and awkward manner. The loud thud at the end indicated he was out of the conversation.

Izumo shook his head and smiled back over at a grinning Naruto. "We'll see you when you get back, yeah?"

"Count on it," Naruto saluted and quickly departed, just as Kotetsu rolled off of the chair and struggled back to his feet.

"HEY!" the man shouted, rubbing his sore head and shoulder. "What the hell was that for?"

Izumo leaned back on his chair and closed his eyes, feeling the sudden urge to take a nap. "I've been waiting all day to try that. Don't worry. I'm sure your thick skull cushioned your fall."

Kotetsu's right eye twitched. A second later, he kicked the back legs of the chair out from underneath Izumo, who also fell back with a loud shout and a thud.

"Karma, bitch!"

* * *

_**Two days later…**_

_**The Land of Hot Baths…**_

It was night time…

…and frankly…

"_Stakeouts suck…"_ Naruto thought as he scanned the village from the rooftops, looking left and right through the eyeholes of his mask. He was obviously impatient, sitting crouched on top of a small temple overlooking an equally small village for any signs of disturbance. If there was any, an alarm would sound, and the police in the area would be rushing to the scene trailing lamps. If any such emergency should arise, he would follow the law enforcers to the area in question, and track down the perpetrator.

However, since it was such a small task considering it was a B-Rank mission, the blonde was getting pretty impatient wandering the area and not finding anything, not even a whisper.

This village was deafly quiet.

"_Perhaps the Intel was a bit off…"_

His half white, half red mask reflecting much of his boredom, the yellow haired boy in the black trench coat stood up, and strolled along the roof of the temple. Since he had been sitting here for twenty-four hours straight, he felt some exercise would loosen him up and stretch his muscles. Stopping at the other side of the temple's roof, he then hopped off and onto the next one, before breaking into a sprint towards the entertainment district not too far from his position.

When he arrived, he removed his mask and pocketed it, so as to not draw attention to himself, and for a greater part, not scare the crap out of anyone should he jump down into the streets. Brushing his hair aside, he then hopped down into a nearby alley. Ignoring the clutter of garbage, he slipped his hands into his trench coat pockets and walked round and into the ramen stand waiting for him. The aroma of that delicious delicacy had his senses flare and stomach grumble, the urges just begging him to feast. Even the Kyuubi had to admit he was craving noodles.

Figuring gossip would point him in the right direction; Naruto sat himself down at the counter and ordered himself a bowl of Miso Ramen.

"_I wish the details were more specific on my target. I may be a miracle worker, but I hate this Sherlock Holmes crap. Anything would have been useful, like where is the guy from? What are his motives? His targets? Anything that would help me track him down," _Naruto grumbled in his head. _"But everything on the guy has been random or blank. No specific targets, only random foreign shinobi and a butt load of vandalism and theft. Sounds kind of familiar though…"_

Beneath the orange glow of the stand's lights, the boy just stared emotionlessly and endlessly into the wall in front of him. When his order was finally pushed in front of him a few minutes later, he nodded thanks, and took a pair of chopsticks from the tin provided, and broke them apart to begin his meal.

However, things changed the moment he broke the chopsticks apart, the broken section of fibers at the end of one of them causing his right eye to twitch.

"_Bad luck… or a fight?"_

At that moment, a person suddenly pushed their way in under the stand's drapes and into the bar. The figure took a seat right next to the blonde, the sudden presence of the individual stopping him in mid extraction of his noodles. The steam from the soup wafted away sharply and his utensils suddenly lost their grip on the food he was holding.

Naruto looked up in surprise for a moment, his usual response to an unexpected occurrence. His appearance then returned to its tired, void like stare, with the moment of shock dying down with it.

The exhaustion not at all deterring him, but nonetheless adding to his expression as indicated by the shadows under his eyes, a small smile crept over his lips, as he averted his gaze down toward his noodles.

"I had a hunch, but I never expected you to be the rogue ninja…" Naruto looked up to his right. The dark brown skin, orange eyes, green hair, white mid-drift outfit, shorts, and fishnet armor hugging at the person's figure, didn't stir him otherwise. He recognized the girl the moment she sat down on the padded bar stool.

"Fu-chan…"

The jinchuriki of the Seven-Tailed Horned Beetle smiled back at him, her eyes reflecting her joy at seeing her best and only friend from so many years ago.

"Naruto-kun…" She placed her hand on his, rubbing her thumb against it affectionately. "I knew it was you… hopping from rooftop to rooftop all day and night…"

Yup… it was definitely her…

* * *

"You were never easy to follow… so when I lost sight of you, I knew I had to lure you out somehow," Fu exclaimed as the pair walked side-by-side through the village's roads, wandering to no particular destination and taking every random corner along the way.

Already, they had passed the same temple three times.

"So, you were the one causing problems for the locals all the way out here. You were trying to call me out for a 'fight'?" Fu nodded to him, still smiling brightly. Naruto chuckled and shook his head. "I guess it is by some strange twist of fate that we should happen to run into each other." The blonde smiled up towards the sky, amused. _"I bet this was Yukari's doing…"_

"I counted on you to show up," Fu replied, placing her hands behind her. "I had been working on this plan for some time. I calculated that if you suspected my actions to be related to Akatsuki, the 'Nightwalker' would show up to investigate. However, I also figured that you might be a fully fledged ninja at this point in time; working for Konohagakure, and… well… it was a stretch. I was worried that it would have been somebody else sent to deal with me, with a seventy-percent chance of you showing up. Guess my small percent of success worked in my favor."

"Geez, my guise isn't really working anymore," Naruto mused. "All of the people living with me know that I am the _Nightwalker_, including old-man Third and Baa-chan. Even a couple of my enemies know who I am…"

Fu and Naruto had been talking for some time. While they ate at the ramen stand, and well into the hours after leaving the store, they had been catching up. Most of the time was talking about what had happened since they last saw each other, how strong they have become, and all of the biggest conflicts that have transpired. In all that time, neither one of them showed any spite or jealousy towards the other. However, it was at the mention of Naruto's other companions that had Fu frown and look away.

The head-turn caught Naruto's attention, but he paid it little mind.

"People…_living…_ with you…?"

"Yeah, my friends and teammates," Naruto laughed at that. "Sure, I don't mind my teammates living with me, or Little Haru, but all those other people. Man… I can't really imagine my life anymore without them…"

"You were better off without them," Fu muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"Naruto-kun," Fu suddenly turned towards him, stopping both of them in the middle of the road, somewhere on the edge of the village. Taking his hand in hers, she clutched it close to her heart, and gazed deeply into his eyes, an expression of longing on her face. "I want you to come with me…"

"Huh?"

"These villages… these lands… they have no place for us," Fu whispered, her grip on his hand tightening. "These… 'civilized people'… they despise us, no matter what we do. No matter how much good we attempt, no matter what we do for them, even if we aren't around, they still hunt us and intend to hurt us."

Naruto kept his mouth shut and ears open, wanting to hear what she had to say. Obviously, from everything he has heard from her in the night so far, had been filled with nothing but pain and torment.

Her life so far had not been a pretty one. She had been running all her life, dodging assassins, ninja and bounty hunters sent after her, including Akatsuki, eating whatever she could find, stealing everything she could, and living in several different places at once to stay out of trouble. She had basically been living on the streets, away from the prying eyes of villagers or anyone for that matter.

From her story, Naruto saw that the only light that had ever shone in all her years of roaming and hiding had been _him_ when he entered her life.

When they were both street urchins…

Living together in the same alley, the same box, sharing the same blanket…

That memory still brought chills to him.

Fu smiled at him.

"I want you to run away with me. Leave Konoha for good and all those people who pretend to be your friends. We can go to the Western Countries across the seas, and start a new life there. We can live happily together, just you and me," she exclaimed, placing her hand on his cheek and rubbing his whiskers gently. Naruto blinked, the shock of what she was saying to him coming in waves, and preventing him from responding.

She leaned in closer. "I want you to be with me Naruto-kun…" Fu closed her eyes and leaned ever closer, their bodies now touching. "I love you…" She then kissed him tenderly, embracing him for a minute or so.

It was the kiss that jump-started Naruto, and the blonde, after returning it briefly, gently pulled away. He took the girls hands in his and looked her in the eyes, his expression becoming serious.

"Why don't you come with me instead, Fu-chan?" he asked. The girl responded with a surprised blink and a murmur. "You can live in Konoha with me. It may not be much, but I have a home there, and I can take care of you there for as long as you want. The villagers there are just starting to be friendly with me… to a jinchuriki, and I have friends who will be kind to both of us."

Fu's eyes seemed to shimmer in the moonlight as she took in what Naruto had to say to her. Although it struck a chord with her, and tempted her into accepting his offer, her long history with other people interfered with her decision. Everything that has happened to her in the past, and everything her villagers and supposed 'family' had done to her, came back full-force.

Her conflicting emotions, and feud over Naruto, caused her to tear up. She didn't expect this, but knew what Naruto was really saying to her.

"W-Why don't you want to come with me?" Fu asked, her voice trembling. "D-Don't you want to be with me?"

"No, I do… I do _want_ to be with you. But…I want to be with you with my other friends," Naruto said, working his way into her heart little by little. He rubbed his thumb over her cheek, brushing away her tears. "That way, we will never be lonely again. We will never have to run, or hide, or live off the streets. We can have a proper life together…"

"B-But… I want to be _you_… only you…" Fu whimpered, leaning into his hand as he caressed her cheek. "T-Those people… t-they might hurt me again…"

"I promise you, they won't," Naruto said, looking into her eyes when she looked up at him again. "I won't let them…"

Fu stared into his eyes, seeing the same glow she remembered gazing into all those years ago when they first met. His warm embrace was the only thing she ever felt when they were both out in the cold, and it was the only thing she could think of when he disappeared. But now that he was back, the same warmth that comforted her through all her nights of loneliness came back tenfold.

It was the best feeling she had ever experienced…

"I love you, Fu-chan…"

They remained like this for some time, caressing the other's cheek, and staring endlessly into the other's eyes. However, all good things eventually come to an end, and Fu was the first to break the silence. She simply smiled and pulled away, surprising Naruto at her actions.

"I can see where you heart stands, Naruto-kun," Fu looked away, tears beginning to well-up again. "You have found new friends… and you don't need me in your life anymore…"

"No, Fu-chan! Listen…"

"But you can't leave me alone either," Fu closed her eyes and turned in his direction. She stepped away, moving out of his grip, with Naruto stepping towards her. But when he moved forward, she moved back more. "That is why… I'm going to let you decide _for certain_ what _**you**_ want: to be with me or with your friends…"

"…"

"I'll wait for you tomorrow at noon, outside of the _Land of Woods_. You can give me your answer there…"

Without anther word, she turned heel and ran out of the village, taking the road. Naruto tried to catch her, but when he saw how fast she vacated the area, he knew she had her mind set. So, the young Jonin opted to wait, letting out a sigh and walking over to the nearest bench. As soon as he sat down he pulled out his mask and looked down at it.

"Just like her… giving me an impossible choice," Naruto smiled. "What should I do?"

The mask just stared up at him, silently.

Finding no answer in it, the blonde chuckled and leaned back on the bench. _"Well… I've found out who the target is. The question now though, is how I should proceed…"_

He closed his eyes, and began to think…

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

_**

* * *

**_

_**Omake:**_

Zabuza, Haku and Neji snickered as they looked at Naruto, lying on his couch with a bag of ice on his crotch. In spite of receiving direct care from Sakura, the boy was still pretty traumatized from the events that had transpired.

"What's the matter, brat? Was Mia too rough with you?" Zabuza laughed, earning an annoyed glare from the blonde shinobi.

"Don't test me…"

"Oh, sorry. I forgot, you're still a virgin," Zabuza continued, Haku and Neji returning to watching TV. It was at that response Naruto sat up straight.

"Why you…OW!" The blonde laid back down when the pain in his back ran up his entire body, rattling him. Sakura just sighed and went back to nursing him, applying some Vaseline to his razor burns. "There was no 'fun'… if you could call it that…"

"Ah, no need to get your panties in a twist. You'll have plenty of time to learn," Zabuza replied from his couch, sipping the Coke in his hands between the open creases made in his mask. "After all, it's the next best thing to all the other important things in life…"

"Says the biggest pervert I've seen next to Anko-sensei, Kakashi-sensei and Jiraiya…" Naruto grumbled.

"Don't forget Ryoko-chan and Mia…" Sakura sung to him, padding the Vaseline on his forehead.

"Ugh…" Naruto groaned. "I feel like I just dived into a blender…"

"What was she trying to do to you, anyway?" Haku asked, glancing over at his friend while Neji flipped through channels. "It didn't look like anything I'd ever seen before."

"We were stretching…" Naruto rolled over a bit so that Sakura could get his back. Honestly, he did not want to talk about this.

"Sure you were, and the moon is made of cheese," Zabuza replied.

Before anyone could make any more snappy comebacks, there was a knock at the front door to the estate, and Sasuke walked in, unannounced. The supposed last of the great Uchiha looked around the place briefly, before turning to look over at Naruto. Not wanting to question what had happened to him from the state he was in, the raven haired boy simply shrugged it off and went on with his query.

"Excuse me, but have any of you guys been down to the Naka Shrine recently?"

"Lost something?" Neji asked curiously, with everyone turning towards the person in question out of sheer curiosity.

"Uhh… not really just… _misplaced_," Sasuke tried to cover up his misfortune, but ultimately failed from the expressions he was receiving. Instead, he decided to come clean. "Fine. The stone tablet in the basement area was taken…"

"Tablet?" Zabuza mumbled.

"It contains the secrets to the Mangekyo Sharingan, and someone's taken it," Sasuke concluded, earning odd looks from everybody in the room.

"Now who would want that?" Sakura asked. "It's not like any of us normal people know the secrets of the 'Great' Uchiha Clan or how to use them for that matter…"

Just as Sasuke was about to formulate a reply, he suddenly spotted Mia walking in from the corridor across the room with Little Haru trotting after her. The young red head was giggling happily while holding a giant stone slab in her hands, as she read off of it word for word to the curious youngster. Sasuke immediately recognized the thing in her arms as his clan's tablet, while everybody else just looked in Mia's direction in amusement.

"Found it…" Zabuza lazily pointed.

"Looky, looky, Naruto-sama!" Mia exclaimed as she bounded over to where the boy lay, who nearly cried out in anguish when the Sage of Six Paths returned to his side. "I found my old shopping list from one-thousand years ago! It was lying in the basement of some temple. I asked if I was allowed to borrow it, and the monks said yes!"

"Shopping! Shopping!" Little Haru bounced around the chair, and stopped at Sakura's side, who smiled at the little girl and ruffled her hair. "Mia went to buy a scroll, a robe, a staff… and a bowl of ramen! That's what was on the tablet!"

Mia showed the whole group the contents of the tablet, with Sasuke now staring at the woman wide-eyed and shaking his head in disbelief. Neji chuckled at the look Sasuke wore and simply returned to watching the television.

"Can't trust archeologists…"


	51. Together Forever

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Together Forever_

_**That very next day…**_

Naruto stood in the wastes outside of the _Land of Woods_, just as he had been instructed to do so by his long time friend. Hands in his pockets, he stood dead center, staring out across the valley of giant trees stretching out for miles on end, waiting patiently. Of course, these trees weren't ordinary air givers. They were dead, colossal towers of dry wood; fossils of their former selves, stretching up towards the skies, hoping to reach the heavens where they belonged, as their times were up. Unfortunately, they were stuck here on earth, their home, the soil of their birthplace, and couldn't grow any further.

The sight didn't affect Naruto at all, but, really, it was what he could see and what he felt that best described the picture before him; dead skeletons of trees branching out around him, desperately clinging onto life. It was an almost perfect picture…

…a perfect picture of death

"_That's… disturbing…"_ Naruto thought, his artificial mask hiding his expressions.

Blinking, he turned around, detecting a presence standing behind him.

When his eyes landed on Fu, a mixture of emotions began flowing through him and across his face. He was scared, happy, surprised, determined, worried… all manner of feelings passed his mind, but he didn't let any of these emotions conflict with his statues here and now. Instead, he turned to face her fully and firmly, ready to give his answer.

The Seven Tails' jinchuriki smiled back at him.

"So… Naruto-kun," Fu began, her eyes shimmering with hope and delight. "Have you made your decision?"

"I have…" Naruto replied, his voice's tone muffled by the mask he was wearing. "And I've decided… I'm going to stay here…"

Fu blinked in surprise, not expecting to hear those words rolling from his lips, and with such certainty to them.

In spite of all the memories, all the thoughts, and all the prayers of hope she had uttered in the hours leading to this moment, she expected her closest friend and crush to choose to come with her, over the other life he lived back in his village. But instead, the decision he had come to that she had been dreading, was answered in the simplest of words with no hints of regret or hesitation.

Naruto smiled under his mask before removing it, showing the girl whom he held in high regard and so close to his heart, how serious he really was.

"It's the life I chose from all those years ago, Fu-chan. I've been walking on this path for some time… for the longest time, and it was all thanks to you that I came to live the life I had. We may have walked the same path before when we were younger, but somewhere down the line, we hit a fork, and took different roads. Even though we could still see each other on opposite sides, we walked different roads…"

Fu's eyes wavered as she heard him speak. The young Jonin made it absolutely clear to the both of them that he intended to stick to his path, and that meant only one thing…

"But our lives eventually led us back to each other, at a crossroads. I want to continue down my intended path, but this time I want you to come with me," Naruto raised a hand to her, with Fu backing up a little at his gesture. "I've met other people along my path who want to walk with me by their own admission. I don't know what influenced their decision, but I can see that they are happy to be where they are… and it was their choice to be with me."

"I…I don't…"

"I've made the choice to protect and preserve their happiness, and I want to do the same for you, Fu-chan," Naruto smiled at her, and stepped forward, only to have the other jinchuriki step back, as if afraid. "Please. I've made my choice, to be with them and you at the same time. Now…I want to hear what you have decided, from you…"

Silence dawned on them as the two jinchuriki stared at each other, one certain of his decision, and the other one afraid and confused. However, after the winds of time passed them for the briefest of periods, Fu eventually returned to the real world, and life blinked back into her. In response to Naruto's words, she simply smiled back and allowed herself a little shrug, yet refused to look him in the eyes.

She laughed lightly, but it was a forced laugh.

"You don't get it… Naruto-kun…"

"Hm…" The blonde blinked in surprise.

"You just… don't get it," Fu turned away, looking up and over onto a different horizon. The wind whipped at her hair as she dug deep into the thoughts rushing through her head, and at the same time, her stare became vacant; an empty shell of the smiles she shared with the boy standing by her, waiting for her. "I can't go with you back to that world, Naruto-kun; I can never go back. Those people… those strangers… those other… _insects_… in that world… they've hurt me so much…"

"…"

"You may think I'm ready to go back to that world, but I can't…i-it's impossible for me. I resolved a long time ago after I was cast away for the last time, to never, _ever_ set foot in that world again. Not after everything I went through, not after all the pain it's caused me," Fu clenched her fists as she spoke. A wave of anger and hurt, and fear overcame her; at the same time tears strung at her eyes and began to spill over. "Those people who live their comfortable, safe little lives with their 'families' and their 'friends', are nothing short of scum! They only care about themselves, about their own well being. They don't care about one little girl. Why would they? A scared, cold, homeless little girl: who was used, who was beaten when she was little, who was chased away by those who were supposed to love her, and was thrown away like garbage! A pariah is just an inconvenience to everyone, and they distance themselves from them and treat them like a leper. They only pretend to like you and to care for you for their own sake, but once they are satisfied, they'll just cast you out and hurt you!"

Naruto furrowed his brow, his hand still extended towards the girl as she cried her heart out. When she turned towards him, he felt a knife pierce his heart at the tears that were flowing, and the pain and anger reflected in her eyes.

He had been there before…

A long time ago…

He stepped closer though, only for her to step away again…

"Their embrace is only a bear trap, that will wound you as soon as you walk into it," Fu cried, moments before all that anguish suddenly turned into rage right before Naruto's eyes. "THEY WILL HURT YOU! THOSE PEOPLE! THOSE FRIENDS! THAT WORLD! All their love and compassion is just a sick little lie, a lie invented by them to preserve their civilized, happy, selfish little lives for them and only them! The moment they stuck those demons into us, we become what they hated; diseased, cursed children who are defenseless and easy prey! They find comfort in our sacrifice and our suffering, and give nothing in return! Do you know how much it hurts to be given that burden? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IT HURTS TO BE ALONE?"

Naruto lowered his head, his expression turning to one of upset and pain, one that perfectly reflected that of Fu's. He looked down, eyes becoming overshadowed and hiding the tears he was trying to hold back. Then, after giving his grief-stricken friend's words a moment of thought, once more, from the darkness inflicted upon his own soul, he looked up, and showed her the pain of their shared past life written on his own face.

The face of a raved dog that had wandered all those years ago, alone and exiled…

"I'm the only one who can understand what you've been through, Fu-chan," Naruto spoke, his voice void of emotion. "We've lived the same lives; we shared the same pain, the same food, the same bruises, and we lived in that same, cardboard box in that alleyway on the edge of that village." He tilted his head at her, and spared her a small, pained smile. "I'm still here, Fu-chan. We can still find happiness in each other, and we can be together for as long as you want, and never have to feel that pain of being alone ever again…"

"…"

"Come with me, Fu-chan…"

Looking down, Fu hid her face from him, and allowed herself to visit her conflicting thoughts for a final time. For another few minutes, they stood in silence, waiting for the one who will break the ice and provide those words of comfort for the other. However, the next time Fu looked up and showed her face, Naruto saw a look he had been hoping never to see on her in his entire life.

When she looked up at him, she showed him the same, cold, emotionless expression he wore. Dried tears carving her cheeks, she looked up at him with empty, dull, shadowed eyes.

For the first time in his life, Naruto swore he saw himself…

The _Nightwalker_ glaring back at him…

"You purposely walked off my path and left me alone… for _**them**_," Fu spoke in a monotone voice. Though she held nothing, Naruto still felt the sting of accusations aimed at him through her words. "You may have been with me at one stage of our lives, sharing the same pain; but you never felt anything from it. All feelings and emotions swept through you like they were nothing, like you weren't even there."

"Fu-chan…"

"In reality, you were never really there. You were simply stepping onto my path from the bench you were sitting on, the side you are _**still**_ sitting on today; unable to choose what road you wanted to walk on," Fu furrowed her brow, the venom in her voice climbing. "Because you walk between both sides, you could never fully understand what I experienced. You just closed yourself off from my world, just like everybody else…"

"No. That's not what I…you don't understand…"

"NO! _YOU_ DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Fu snapped back with a shout, gritting her teeth. "I want _that_ Naruto back! I want the Naruto who shared the same life I had, who shared the same food and the same bed with me, and the one who loved me and only me! I want to love _that_ Naruto." Her fists clenched and cracked, and the blonde shinobi stepped back in surprise when he suddenly felt her chakra level skyrocket. The ground literally cracked when green energy suddenly started to waft off of her. "But that Naruto is long gone, and all I see is a ghost of his former self standing before me! A shadowless, undecided, fake… that is luring me back into a world that wants to hurt me…"

"Fu…"

"You're not the Naruto I love," Fu growled. "You're one of _**them**_! And if I want my Naruto back, I'll have to kill this one!"

Naruto frowned and stepped back into a light stance, watching as the green chakra around Fu got sucked back into her, and she began walking forward.

"You don't want to do this, Fu," the young Jonin warned. "I don't want to hurt you…"

"Don't worry…" Fu hissed, her body suddenly flickering and vanishing before the shinobi's very eyes.

Naruto's eyes widened when he lost sight of her, the jinchuriki suddenly reappearing behind him, standing at full height as if she hadn't moved. Back to back, the girl glared ahead of her, eyes still shedding tears, as the blonde boy began to spin around to meet her.

"You _**can't**_ hurt me…"

Just as the blonde ninja was about to turn to face her, using unprecedented speed and agility, Fu spun around and sent a roundhouse kick straight for her opponent's mid-section. Naruto barely had enough time to block it, and just as the blow landed against him, a force of ten trains racked his body and sent him careening through the air at high speed. The blonde Jonin was propelled a distance of over a hundred meters faster then a kunai, tossing and turning before crashing to the ground and skipping several times, and eventually slamming headlong into a tree.

He disappeared into the tree, his impact against it sending debris and dust flying everywhere.

When the cloud settled and vision became clear a minute or so later, Naruto pulled himself out of the hole, staggering.

In his right hand he held his shattered mask, which crumbled into pieces between his fingers. Panting, he glared up, blood trailing down from his head and nose as he tried to seek out his opponent. He quickly spotted her, standing in the same spot where she had kicked him.

His bones cried out in agony, and he dropped to his knees surrounded by the debris of the skyscraper of a tree behind him.

"_Damn it… what raw power…" _Naruto growled in his head, biting back the pain. _"The Seven Tailed Horned Beetle is physically the strongest of the Nine Tailed Beasts, and when in battle, its physical strength and invulnerability to any kind of attack is passed on to its current jinchuriki as a means of defense. That's insane! That kick nearly killed me!"_

Just then, Fu suddenly sprinted straight for him, her speed contributed to her by her tailed beast propelling her in his direction. Her speed was so fast in fact; her form became distorted in her opponents' eyes.

Naruto responded instantaneously this time, back flipping straight up into the air and landing against the side of the tree. As a result, the green haired girl slammed head long into the tree instead of into him, going straight through it as a result.

The tree shook with the force of the impact, Naruto crouching against it and glaring down towards the cloud of dust rocketing out of the newly formed hole.

All of a sudden, Fu came sprinting straight up towards him, a stoic expression on her face as she lunged in for her next attack. Naruto leapt back along and up the side of the trunk, avoiding incoming punches and kicks. He was left shaken after every avoided blow, as he could feel the force of each hit wafting off her punches.

Ducking under a punch, he rolled between the girl's legs and leapt away from her about twenty stories above the ground. Fu followed him with her eyes, watching as the blonde spun through the air expertly.

Cocking his gauntlets, Naruto fired off a barrage of a dozen arrows towards the girl, who knocked each of them aside with her bare hands and arms. The arrows were either broken from the parries, or impaled against the tree instead of her. Abseiling through the air, the young Jonin landed against the side of another about thirty meters across the way, turning around against the trunk he landed on and firing off another arrow at his target.

Fu caught the arrow swiftly with her bare hand, and glared at it.

A paper tag unraveled from the feather end and began to burn unexpectedly. A split second later, the exploding tag detonated with a tremendous force that rocked the surrounding area, cracking the tree and engulfing Fu in flames.

Naruto hoped that the bomb was enough to slow her down, but as bad luck should have it, it didn't.

The girl leapt out of the bellowing smoke at high speed, flying towards the blonde with her fist clenched and ready to hit. Naruto leapt out of the way just as she struck out, slamming into the tree again, with her impact resulting in another blast of dust and a large crater. Naruto jumped down to a lower branch, landing crouched next to it before glaring up towards where his opponent was.

He received the shock of a lifetime when, the moment he turned, Fu was right above him, already sending another punch in his direction. He had but half a second to form a hand seal before her chakra enveloped fist rattled his body when it was thrown full on into his face. The blow cracked his skull and jaw, and sent the Jonin flying over the side of the branch, which broke from its trunk host at the tremendous force displayed.

Naruto's body dove for the earth boneless, before hitting the ground with anvil force and weight, splitting the ground on contact. After forming a crater in the earth, Fu landed a second later right on top of him, slamming her feet into his stomach on touch down. Straightening up, she then glared down at his profusely bleeding and twitching face as he lay sprawled out before her. She was considering finishing him off to end his pain.

But just as she was in mid-decision, Naruto's body exploded into a cloud of smoke, revealing a tree log pressed beneath her heel.

Surprised at the replacement, she turned to glance over her left shoulder, just in time to spot a cluster of three kunai flying in her direction, all of them laced with explosive tags. She effortlessly side-stepped them, the kunai hitting a tree some distance behind her and detonating simultaneously in the background, easily causing the dead tree they hit to collapse.

Just as Fu was assuming a casual, side-stepping motion, Naruto came charging at her at incredible, blurred speed, drawing the tanto blade from his shoulder holster and lunging at her with it. He began striking out at her with elaborate kenjutsu moves, slashing at her with one attack after the other. The girl backed away, avoiding the first ten strikes, before catching his arm, gripping him tightly in a grappling maneuver.

As a result, both opponents skidded to a stop from their fluent motions, and glared at each other across the dividing blade. The intensity reflected in each others' eyes was hard to miss.

Naruto kicked out at her chest, which she leapt back to avoid, and followed up with more slashes and lunges with his blade. However, after Fu managed to gain some distance from him, and avoid a dozen more attacks, she spun around in an agile dodge and slammed the back of her hand against Naruto's arm, easily damaging a couple of tendons and knocking the knife out of his grip. The blonde winced at the hit and leapt back to avoid a punch from the girl. She returned his assault with her own, attacking him vigorously and viciously, forcing him to begin dodging and blocking, at his own risk of course.

The pair danced around one another as Fu unleashed a flurry of kicks and punches with little effort, while Naruto had to work his best to avoid the blows. If any of them were to connect, they would severely damage him if not kill him. Even when he did effectively parry a blow, it still caused damage. Eventually, Naruto was forced to get away, ducking a hook meant for his head and leaping back low across the ground, as if he were abseiling a shadow.

While skidding back across the ground, a kunai shot out from under his sleeve and into his grip. He then swiftly threw it at her, but missed when it soared passed her head.

However, the wire attached to the blade hooked around the girl's right arm the moment she aimed to block instinctively, only to have her limb caught in a tight bind. In her efforts to remove the wire, Naruto yanked on it to prevent a successful counter, and pulled himself toward the girl, flying through the air back towards her at high speed.

Whipping through the space between them while attached to the wire, he slammed a hard jab across her face with bone cracking force, before landing on her head in a crouched position and, using her as a stepping stone, leapt off of her. Looping through the air, he spun around again and threw a cluster of shuriken down at her as he detached the wire, intending to finish his combo. The moment Fu eventually spun around, physically unharmed, she was hit head long by the shuriken, which bounced off of her without any effect whatsoever, only scratching her clothes and cutting her hair.

When Naruto landed against the side of a tree again and assessed the results of his attacks, he silently cursed himself. He was unable to contemplate the complete extent of the damage when Fu suddenly came flying up at him at high speed again, aiming a kick as she whipped ferociously through the air. Naruto dove out of the way again just as her blow hit the tree, literally splitting it in two when the force of the attack traveled through it, causing the top half to start careening to its side.

As it fell, Naruto landed against it and began rushing up its side, during the period it started leveling out. Fu pursued him, eventually catching up to him half way as it began to hit the ground. Slamming her fist into him as he spun around, she followed through with a swift, deadly assault. He blocked her following attacks, ducking under her head-aimed roundhouse kick and leaping back when she sent an axe kick down at him on a continuation of the combo. That blow went straight into the tree again, splitting the trunk in two and accelerating its collapse.

When the tree hit the ground, the result was a devastating domino effect and earth splitting impact. The moment it made ground zero, it split the earth in all directions, and caused two more trees to begin collapsing. Naruto managed to avoid damage and death by leaping off the falling tree he was currently on, just as clouds of dust and debris began shooting into the air. While in mid ascent, Naruto cocked his gauntlet around and fired off a kunai towards another tree with wire attached to it. When it hit the side of the natural structure, he pulled on it and swung. His direction affectively changed as he sailed through the air, using it as his target.

Eventually doing a full loop around the tower he was swinging from, he performed a flip using the advantage of his momentum, and landed atop of a higher branch. Crouching on his vantage point about thirty stories above ground, he turned around to where he had swung from to evade, panting, and watching the results of the other collapsing trees.

The damage being sustained to the surrounding areas was insane, Fu obviously being enveloped in the titanic collapses and the clouds of smoke, dirt and dust rising into the air and clouding much of the valley surroundings. Honestly, could the trees be any bigger than a hundred stories?

Gritting his teeth, Naruto gripped his right shoulder, feeling his muscles and bones tremor mercilessly from the blows sustained and the effort it was taking him to move at the speed and agility he had to against his opponent.

In truth, he was moving as fast as he could possibly go in order to keep pace with her.

"Damn it… this is hard…"

Just as he was beginning to relax, he felt Fu's chakra level suddenly skyrocket again and he looked down towards the collapsed tree he was previously on with wide eyes. When he did, he saw pure red and green energy begin to twist around a certain point amidst the clouds, followed by black and white orbs of heavy chakra.

The sight not at all one to be taken lightly, Naruto rose to his feet quickly, just as the black and white energy compressed itself into a perfect 8:2 ratio. A split second later, there was a thunderclap, and in a blink of an eye, a beam of pure red energy rocketed from the clouds of dust and forced them apart, cutting through them and flying straight towards Naruto's position thirty stories above.

Gasping in shock, Naruto leapt out of the way just as the Tailed Beast Ball struck the branch he was on and detonated. The moment he landed on another branch to avoid the explosion, he was forced to evade again, leaping away just as more concentrated balls of red chakra were lobbed in his direction, hitting the enormous trunk in several places. They were obviously aimed for him, but he managed to stay ahead of death by mere inches.

The tree's upper half was decimated as a result of the punishment it was suffering, and began to cave in, just as Naruto leapt off of it, aiming for another tree and abandoning his previous one.

He landed hard against the next one, and turned around so that his back was pressed against the side of the wooden structure. The young Jonin sat about twenty stories up as the tree he previously sought refuge on gave way and started to keel over.

Naruto was in the process of catching his breath, when moments later, the spot Fu was shooting energy orbs from became clear. The moment it did, the girl flew through the air towards him once again, readying another punch. Naruto, unable to avoid fast enough, chose to face it this time, crossing his arms over his body as soon as she was in range and threw the punch in his direction.

When the blow landed, it was like trying to stop a bullet train, the force of it resulting in a catastrophic blast of force, with debris and dust hurling into the air in one huge cloud. The force being too great for both him and the tree to sustain, Naruto was eventually sent hurling out the other side of the tree, a perfect hole punched through the entire trunk.

Shaken, and his body vibrating from the colossal force of taking the hit, Naruto pulled out a wire from under his sleeve, the entire metal strand laced with kunai. Unfurling the cluster through the air around him, he then tossed the assorted weapons straight ahead of him the moment he saw Fu come flying after and towards him, following through the hole formed by him.

The interconnected kunai slammed against her one after the other, yet she pushed through the rain, aiming another punch for Naruto's face. Not wanting to sustain another blow, the boy managed to catch it and absorb the impact, quickly wrapping the wire from his gauntlet around the girl's arm and hooking it.

During their continued flight and steady descent through the air, with Naruto securing his opponent's arm in a grapple and Fu attempting another attack, the kunai the young Jonin had thrown, impacted the tree he had previously gone straight through, and lodged tightly into place. As a result, when the wire lost slack, Fu was held back and her momentum was effectively stopped. Naruto continued his backward getaway on his own when he released her.

Performing a back-flip, Naruto landed against the side of another tree and glared up, watching as Fu struggled against the wire tied around her.

She began to fall when her direction was reversed, the wire holding her tightly as she descended towards the ground, before slamming into the side of the tree, still entangled. The blonde sighed in relief, and took whatever seconds of reprieve were given to him to rest up. It was like a mouse was tackling a raging bull head-to-head. That was how impossible the fight was.

Time, of course, was short, and before long, Fu had found a way out of her predicament.

Opening her mouth, black and white pellets of chakra began to spin around in front of her mouth, quickly forming into a black orb of raw, heavy chakra. Naruto detected the spike in the incredibly dangerous energy, and quickly made to evade. A few seconds later, Fu fired off a beam of pure red chakra, the attack striking the tree Naruto was kneeling against as he leapt from side to side to avoid the deadly stream.

The beam punctured the tree and cut the trunk to pieces, and consequently, Naruto began falling with the branches and debris that broke away.

With the continuous beam being fired from her mouth, Fu spun around where she hung and cut through the wire with the consecutive blasts, and at the same time, sliced the tree she was hanging against, in two.

Once again, the giant trees began to fall, the rubble and wood plummeting towards the ground. The debris caused widespread damage, as the huge chunks of wood crashed to the earth, cracked it, and began splitting the surface with the weight of each piece. Naruto and Fu, as a result of the collapsing titans, became buried by the rain of wood, which stopped seconds later, leaving clouds of dust hanging over the area in question.

It didn't take long for both ninja to pull themselves out of the ground, Naruto with the aid of his clones lifting the material off of his back, and Fu, under her own raw power. Dusting himself down, the blonde Jonin dispelled his clones and leapt down off of the half-a-tree trunk he was situated on and landed on the flat ground, just as his opponent kicked aside a large log to make herself some space.

Standing at a distance of forty meters apart, the two combatants faced each other through the dust still choking the air. When the comfortable amount of time passed them by, Fu took her change and charged in for another assault, with Naruto forming a hand seal to counter.

"_Mass Shadow Clone Jutsu_!"

A wall of about a hundred clones exploded in front of the original user, and all at once, charged towards Fu. They met her in force, opening up attacks with lunges utilizing fists, kunai and hidden blades. The jinchuriki target however, expertly maneuvered around and into the fray, blocking strikes, taking them, and beginning to flat out pummel the onslaught of copies challenging her. Clones came in left and right, leaping over one another to get to their objective, and attempted to strategically pick her off from all her blind spots. However, in spite of their efforts, even blows they managed to land on her had little effect, as a good half of them were quickly wiped out in a matter of seconds.

The real Naruto, behind a defense of ten of his shadow clones, gritted his teeth in frustration as he watched Fu beat the snot out of his doppelgangers one after another; dispelling them with no effort exerted whatsoever.

"_She's too strong… I can't beat her like this…"_

Throwing off a crowd of a dozen clones in one feral swoop, Fu spun on the spot, effectively making room for herself to perform her next technique.

Taking a stance, she cracked her right fist back, and in a flash, sent it straight into the ground with a shout of anger.

Conclusively; she literally split the earth with her bare fist.

A lightning effect of cracks spread out from the center of her punch and fanned out at a distance of a hundred meters all around. Seconds later, the ground began to cave in, split, topple, and explode. Huge chunks of boulders, rubbles and alike were hurled through the air and tumbled across as a wave was formed, the clone army dispelling all at once when the shockwave hit them. In a matter of moments, the wave of earth hit the real Naruto, who leapt away just in time to avoid it the blast of force, which carried a majority of the danger.

However, he was not prepared for the next stage of the earth rattling blow, when all of a sudden, just as her attack was forming a sink hole in the very land itself, jets of water exploded into the air around Fu in gallons. That number then multiplied in force when an ocean's worth of water suddenly rocketed up into the air in the form of a wall, and began spewing out profusely, as if a giant fire hydrant was smashed out of the way. The amounts of water jetting into the air then turned into a tidal wave as the now forming ocean spread out from the center and outwards at a high velocity.

Naruto had to once again seek refuge atop of one of the nearby trees when a tidal wave came thundering towards him. He was able to make the distance and height in time as the wave washed crashed headlong into the surrounding trees, shaking them, and sending water in the amounts of the Black Sea in all directions for over a kilometer.

Eventually, when the influx of the sudden irrigation settled to form a choppy lake in the middle of the wastelands, Naruto looked around for his opponent from his perch on the tree just a couple of stories above the level. At the same time, he marveled at the catastrophic results of their battle thus far, which was literally reshaping the landscape.

"So this is what a real battle between jinchuriki is like…" he murmured, looking ahead and towards the lake surface, to the area where it all started about a hundred meters in front of him. He was sweating, bruised, bleeding, and probably had a few broken bones.

But all in all, he was still going to continue this fight to defend himself, even if he perished. _"You're really serious, aren't you Fu-chan? You really want to kill me?"_

Just then, a whirlpool formed before his very eyes, and a split second later, his opponent leapt out of the lake and landed to float atop of the wavy waters. She glared up towards the blonde the moment she surfaced, as he knelt suspended against the side of his sanctuary, scowling back at her. Even though the trees that managed to stand were still situated in the ground, the water level was about twenty stories above ground, meaning the trees lost close to one third of their height.

Naruto furrowed his brow. _"She's incredible. Not only has she mastered her abilities as a jinchuriki to be able to fire Tailed Beast Menacing Balls when not even transformed, her attacks are so strong they can level landscapes. That punch created a shockwave so great it decimated a platoon's worth of my shadow clones and at the same time, ruptured an underground lake and brought it to the surface."_

Fu cracked her neck to the side, and then took a stance, holding her left arm in front of her and extended her hand. As soon as she did, black and white chakra began warping around her palm, producing another Menacing Ball to fire. Naruto sweated nervously and gritted his teeth, his body aching from the efforts he was dishing out for the battle.

"_She's much stronger then Anko and Yagura… perhaps even the same strength as Killer Bee on skill basis alone. There's no way I can win this," _Naruto thought. _"She isn't even trying!"_

In no time flat, Fu fired off another, powerful beam of red energy straight towards Naruto, a shockwave ringing out on the execution of the attack. Seconds before it hit, the blonde leapt out of the way, the collision of the attack decimating the tree's top half in the resulting explosion. Spinning through the air, Naruto threw a cluster of kunai straight down towards her, as the energy she was pouring into the attack was cut off and died down.

When she turned to lock onto him as he sailed through the air, kunai struck her in the face and shoulders, bouncing off of her.

She opened her mouth again, a split second later, another black orb formed. She fired the small, concentrated orb like a gunshot, which hit Naruto squarely in mid-air, and detonated with catastrophic force. The explosion engulfed a wide spread area despite the attack's small size, and caused the water to part violently with the force. Fu wasn't at all affected by it, and simply glared towards the cloud of black hot smoke and ash.

A moment later, a kunai flew out of the cloud and straight towards the girl, who took the knife in the forehead, which bounced off. But just then, there was the faint sound of a pop, as Naruto materialized right behind her from the kunai. With a loud shout and a lunge, he thrust the kunai into her neck, its blade glowing with pure blue wind chakra.

Fu ducked at the last second, easily avoiding the intended hit, and quickly spun around, sending a kick straight up at the blonde from under him. She slammed the blow into his chest and sent him flying, rendering his _Flying Thunder God Technique_ useless against her. When Naruto eventually slammed into a tree some distance away, it caved in and collapsed to the lake around him, along with the young Jonin. Amidst the dust cloud, Fu lost sight of her opponent.

However, just as she was beginning to think she had taken the boy out of the fight permanently, a pair of hands unexpectedly shot up out of the water and grabbed her ankles. She looked down in surprise, seeing Naruto glaring back up at her, looking a bit more damaged then before. At that moment, shadows began cascading around her on the water's surface, forcing her to look up and away from the blonde who had her cuffed. When she did, five Shadow Clones of Naruto came careening down at her from the sky one after the other, dropping axe kicks right on top of her.

"_Clone Spinning Axe Kick_!" The assorted copies bellowed, the blows staggering the jinchuriki a bit with each heavy hit, and after leaping away to put distance between the two of them, the shadows clones then summoned up their hidden blades and lunged at her in simultaneous fashion, sending the knives into her.

When the blades hit though, they shattered against her stomach, proving ineffective against her tailed beasts' impenetrable, skin defense.

Fed up with the petty display, Fu managed to yank her legs out of the submerged Naruto's grip, and with a swift pivot, slammed a roundhouse kick around at all five clones in a swift, 360 motion, knocking them flying and dispelling them. Then, stopping her spin, she slammed her foot down onto the one holding her by her one ankle, knocking him back under the water and out of the fight.

The moment she took out all the clones, and she gracefully lowered her leg back down, the lake's surface surrounding her began to spin, as if a whirlpool was beginning to form. Strangely enough, she felt the wind begin to rush and the oxygen level decrease, a rather uncommon occurrence for whirlpool that formed in water.

The rotating water chopped violently in a anti-clockwise direction for a few seconds before parting sharply, forcing Fu to leap into the air to avoid damage, and took to the skies about fifty stories up. As she quickly gained altitude, the hundred-meter wide whirlpool forming beneath her unexpectedly shot up towards her in the form of a large water spout, before inevitably exploding outwards as a mass of whirling wind tore it apart. The visible twister of wind that rocketed out from below the lake's surface suddenly formed into a dragon and tiger, which morphed together and respectively transformed into a giant collaboration of the two creatures.

The attack then lunged up at her, roaring loudly.

"_Wind Release: Dragon versus Tiger!"_

Undeterred by the sight of the wind creature, Fu cranked her head back, her mouth agape as black and white chakra once again whipped around in front of her mouth, and compressed itself into a small, black ball. She then let it rip, a powerful blast of pure red energy thundering straight down towards the wind dragon and tearing it apart. The force of the energy attack caused a ripple affect in the air and a crack of thunder to occur as the sound barrier broke. When it hit the water a second later, the technique blasted a huge hole into its surface moments before it detonated.

The explosion that sent tidal waves in all directions was tremendous, like the force of an atomic bomb going off. The fires from the blast engulfed the area and vaporized a lot of the water, causing serious damage to the surroundings. The giant trees that once stood proudly in the middle of the valley burned up, collapsed, or fell to pieces from the results of the shockwaves. Eventually, the cataclysm faded and the mushroom cloud was blown away onto the wind, with the lake's total mass beginning to fill up the huge space left behind by the _Menacing Ball's_ detonation.

When Fu managed to land back on the choppy water's surface, she looked around, intent on finding her opponent to finish the job.

In her search, she almost immediately spotted Naruto standing a top of a tree trunk floating on the water's surface, almost surfing it on the waves as he came into view. Clenching his fists, it was noted that the entire left part of his body was burned severely, as if he had just reverted back from the Nine-Tails' form, his clothes charred and ripped to pieces. The only pieces of clothing he wore that were still intact were his pants and sandals.

Shaking off the attack, Naruto flipped the log he was standing on into the air like he was on a skateboard and, spinning on the spot, kicked the length of wood straight towards Fu, as if it were a large spear. The girl responded quickly, pivoting on the spot as well and jabbing out with two fingers extended towards the incoming projectile. When she struck it in the center, she split it in two as it flew at her, and eventually passed her in two perfect halves. The moment the threat was removed, she sprinted straight towards Naruto across the mounds of water as they came.

Flicking his hands out, clusters of kunai laced with explosive tags appeared in between his fingers, and in one swift movement, threw all of them at the girl as she rushed at him. Each one of the blades struck her or the area around her, and detonated semi-automatically, deterring the girl slightly, but not damaging her in the least. One particular kunai grazed her hair as it flew past, while another one was batted aside, and exploded a second after it was knocked away. Regardless of the attacks, she continued her sprint towards the Jonin, who formed a hand seal when she was in close.

At that juncture, Fu launched herself at him and lunged with a punch, the boy fading away and causing her to hit nothing and stumble forward. When she missed, she spun around and struck out at a countering Naruto, who was coming in with a kunai. He faded away when her fist passed through him, with the blonde this time reappearing on her blind spot to her right. Fu quickly rotated on the spot with a swift, backwards round-house kick, slamming it across the boy's face and sending him flying. However, she only ended up hitting a shadow clone, and it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

After defeating the clone, the jinchuriki looked around her wildly. Just then, the lake around her for the second time erupted violently, and all of a sudden, an army of about a thousand shadow clones strong surfaced from the lake all around her en masse. The Naruto copies promptly all flew at her, intent on taking her down once and for all. However, just as they were forming an offensive dome in the air space surrounding the green haired girl, Fu responded to their attacks with a swift, chakra blast.

Black and white energy formed in both her hands into two black orbs, compressing them as tightly as she could. Spinning on the spot, she unleashed two beams of energy that sliced through the air, cutting through the masses and effectively taking them out. The clones vanished with simultaneous screams and puffs of white smoke.

The remaining few were easily taken out when they attempted to engage her in hand to hand, and were knocked out one after the other.

Surrounded by a bellowing cloud of white smoke from the resultant death of the clone army, Fu looked around again for her opponent. When she eventually did relocate him, the white cloud was already dissipating, and was blown away by a bright, blue light rushing through it.

Spinning around, she target her opponent flying straight towards her through the air, a blue ball of compressed wind spinning in his hand, surrounded by four prongs rotating at a high velocity.

The moment she saw him begin diving towards her from a height of two stories and at a distance of thirty meters, she brought her right hand around to her side and opened it up, black and white chakra beginning to spin in her grip. It then formed into a black, steaming, heavy orb of raw power, which scorched her skin where she held it. The pure energy she howled in the wind, almost as loudly as Naruto's technique, which screeched as he lunged down at her with it.

"It's useless…" Fu murmured, her attack entering its final stages of development. "You can't win…"

Gritting his teeth, and pretty much betting the whole of the fight on this last attack, Naruto roared and thrust his technique down at her.

"Wind Release: RASENGAN!"

He slammed head long into her, his attack following through. However, the results weren't as either party expected.

Naruto misjudged the distance because of his incredibly depleted chakra level, and because of his failing vision, he slammed head long into her, knocking both of them to the lake's surface. The moment his attack and Fu's attack collided with the water's surface, both of them detonated with incredible, blinding force, a towering wall of white hot fire and black smoke engulfing the both of them and covering a distance of half a kilometer, sending a huge ripple of a tidal wave in all directions, completely decimating what was left of the dead forest of trees surrounding the battlefield.

Much of the lake was vaporized at the end of both attacks going off, and in the flash of light that was all they could see…

It was over…

* * *

_**Half an hour later…**_

_**A kilometer outside of the hot zone…**_

As the waves sloshed on the banks at the shallow ends of the valley, no a lake, a hand stuck itself out from the water and began pulling the rest of the body connected to the limb from it.

Seriously wounded, exhausted and sporting huge wounds down his body, Naruto crawled out from the small ocean and onto the shore outside of the forest within the borders of the genuine _Land of Woods_. His breathing ragged, he bit tooth and nail to pull himself out, resisting the pain, while maintaining consciousness at the same time.

He coughed and sputtered, clearing his lungs of the water he had consumed from swimming all the way over here. With everything that had happened to him during the fight, he should have been killed.

His trench coat practically gone, a majority of his equipment floating around somewhere on the lake's surface, and only sporting half his mesh-shirt, his ripped pants, damaged gauntlets and sandals, the boy dragged his half-dead body onto dry land. Blood trailed behind him in his efforts, and as soon as he was out of reach of getting sucked back into open waters, he collapsed onto his front. Sighing in relief, he let himself lie.

"I-It's over…" Naruto groaned. "I don't think… she'll be getting up… after that…"

He spoke too soon.

After all, if that technique didn't kill him, what chance was there that it did her?

His eyes flew open and he slowly looked up when the growing presence of an enormous chakra signature flared up in his senses. The increase in the waves' ferocity and the warping of wind around him didn't escape his ears.

Fearfully, the young ninja looked behind him, just in time to see a giant waterspout form on the lake's surface. The water rotating around the area wildly about two-hundred meters out, with a silhouette of an unmistakable figure standing in the middle of it, reflected itself in the boy's widening eyes. Rolling over to get a better look Naruto saw through a face covered in blood and water, standing in the middle of a twister of wind and water, Fu.

Her hair whipped around in a dramatic fashion, as did her clothes, with her stance framing the portrait. Furthermore, much to his shock and dismay, she was unscathed and looking furious.

The expression she wore meant certain doom for the Nine Tails' jinchuriki, and Naruto had nothing left in him to give.

Gasping, he rolled over onto his back and feverishly attempted to crawl away, trembling like a leaf.

"G-God dammit!" Naruto cursed, wincing when his body screamed its protests and his blood continued to seep from open wounds. He collapsed after only making it a couple of feet. _"I…I'm out of chakra. Fuck! How is she this powerful?"_

Fu, letting the water fall around her, then began sprinting across the water towards her target, who was sitting done and defenseless on the shoreline. Within seconds, she was within medium range attack distance, and still coming at him, without any intention of slowing down, or showing any hesitation in stopping.

With every step she got closer, Naruto's eyes widened, and the fear of getting killed by the girl grew and grew. Through his eyes, she looked like a real ninja out to do him in, the shadows over her eyes and the visage consuming her creating a terrifying picture, one that shook him to the core.

For the first time in his life, Naruto was fearful for his own life…

"_S-She's… going to kill me…!"_

Fu brought her right hand forward and clenched it tightly into a fist as she charged, slowly bringing it behind her, and readying to land her final attack. This next one, was to end it all.

Naruto gritted his teeth and reached out, searching around blindly with his right hand for a weapon or some sort blunt object to protect him.

His fingers eventually coming in contact with a ten inch stick lying next to him, he tightened his gaze and grabbed it.

Not that it was going to do any good against a full-powered, undamaged, raging jinchuriki; what else could he do?

Hiding it behind him, he waited until Fu got in close. When she hit the shoreline, and was just feet from him, he pumped wind chakra into the stick, the energy extending to form the shape, sharpness and dexterity resembling a katana blade. Moments later, just as the girl lunged in with a punch, Naruto leapt to a crouched position, albeit incredible pain, and lunged as well, thrusting the attack straight into her chest.

However, he was too slow, and the blade was a few feet too short. In terms of speed and force of impact, Fu's fist was more then likely to hit him first then his wind blade, if at all.

Seeing the false visions of his past life provided by death for his own viewing pleasure cross his eyes in brief flashes, he didn't even blink once, and instead of dread, fear or anger coming into play, he allowed a small smile to form on his face, and a chuckle to escape his lips.

"_Oh well… at least I'll die trying…"_

His thoughts continued on to the end.

Whether it was an act of Kami or mercy shed upon him by some unknown force of nature, it was unknown…

But as soon as Fu's fist came within lethal range, she stopped in mid-strike, holding back for just a millisecond, as she looked upon the beaten face of the boy she loved so much. The green haired girl's expression softened when she looked at him, time slowing down around them, giving her a moment to look him over. During the moment of pause, her memories with him passed her by, reminding her of how much they cared for each other, and looking back…

She saw how much his heart could take in, and how he was able to share compassion, not just with her, but with others in need…

She remembered…

It took their time, but his words of assurance finally reached her…

Unable to bear the burden of killing him, and unable to bring herself to, Fu held back, allowing Naruto's wind blade to pierce her.

The thump of the blade and the spray of blood occurred a second later, with the young Jonin's eyes flying open when he realized his attack hit home.

Slumped against each other, the two jinchuriki shared an embrace…

An embrace neither of them wanted to feel…

Naruto's eyes widened when full realization hit him. The feeling of pain, the feeling of a life force, and the feeling of Fu lying against him; her strength, speed, and fighting spirit snatched away from her in an instant.

It was shockingly quick.

Fu smiled and leaned back, allowing her body to fall from Naruto's blade as it dissipated. Gasping, the boy quickly leaned forward and caught her, with both of them now lying in the dirt in each other's arms. Though spent of any energy, the blonde ninja looked her over, from the smile on her face, to the gaping wound in her chest. He attempted to clot it with a piece of his shirt, but in his desperate attempts to provide aid, Fu grabbed his hand and stopped him.

Taking his warm hand in hers, the girl pressed it to her breast and smiled up at him, tears still trickling down from her eyes, and blood now beginning to seep from her mouth.

Naruto's shock became mixed with hurt, from a pain in his heart he could not explain. Gulping on saliva he didn't have, he spoke.

"W-Why…?"

"Why what… N-Naruto-kun?"

"Why did you hold back?" Naruto gritted his teeth, tears beginning to brim at his eyes. "You knew you had me dead! I didn't stand a chance! Why? Why didn't you kill me?"

"Because I… I love you too much… to see the light that you shared with me… vanish from your eyes," Fu grinned at him, bringing her other hand up and rubbing his cheek affectionately. She felt tears hit her face that weren't her own, as Naruto leaned over her and began to cry. Over the searing pain she was experiencing, she felt at peace for the first time in years, and didn't react to the wounds she had received that much. She chuckled in amusement. "I guess… this was my bad…"

"H-Heal…"

"Hmm?"

"Heal dammit!" Naruto took her hand from his face and pressed it against the wound, her blood still pouring out of her and onto the dirt. "You can't give up! Use the Seven Tails' chakra! You can heal yourself, I know it!"

Fu just smiled at him, earning a shocked and upset look from the boy.

"W-Why… why won't you heal yourself, Fu?"

"Silly… I can't… I'm just a beetle…" Fu giggled, referring to her Tailed Beast as it desperately tried to cling onto life, the light around its own cage beginning to fade with hers. "I can't heal; it's not in my demon's power…"

"Idiot! Of course it can heal! You're doing this on purpose! Stop holding back!"

"Sorry, Naruto-kun… but I won't," Fu replied, flashing him a grin. Coughing a bit, she then leaned back more, feeling the hand resting under her head as he caressed her. "Perhaps the next life… the one after this one… will be much more kind to me…"

"Don't say that. You can make it!"

"N-Naruto-kun…" Fu whispered, ignoring him and looking up towards the skies above them. Naruto noticed her vacant stare and her attention directed to the open blue over his head, and leaned back a bit to give her room.

He looked up too, noticing the clouds drifting overhead and heard the birds chirping as they crisscrossed the sky.

The girl laying in his arms giggled, and raised a hand up towards the beautiful sight of the sky and sun, the light breaking through the clouds creating the perfect picture for her. "H-Heaven… is beautiful… isn't it…?"

Naruto looked back down, tears now beginning to stream out of his eyes. "F-Fu-chan…" Her hand came down, and wrapped around the back of his head. With little effort, she pulled him towards her, and for one last time, she kissed him on the lips. If it weren't for the longest time, at least she could feel his warm embrace and his light for the last time.

When they parted, Naruto's lips were stained with her and his blood, and vice-versa.

Fu smiled lovingly at him, her tears mingling with his own.

"I love you… Naruto-kun…" Fu whispered. "A lot… of other people… do too. M-Maybe… it's because… you opened yourself up to the world… and let the love of others… reach you. I… I understand now… the path you walk. It was… meant to be shared…"

"Fu-chan… no…"

Her eyes started to close on him, and she felt her strength leave her completely. Her vision faded, darkening little by little, as she gazed into his eyes.

"S-Say… you love me… Naruto-kun…" Fu exclaimed, smiling. "S-So that… _I_ can walk your path with you… for the last time… if only for a moment…"

Naruto, sniffing, nodded his head and leaned in ever so slightly, more tears falling. He just couldn't stop crying as he complied with her last request.

"I… I love you… Fu-chan…"

Fu's smile widened. "N-Naruto-kun…"

Her hand left his face, and fell away, and her grip on his other disappeared. Naruto gasped when he felt her heart stop, and her eyes close, the light surrounding them seemingly vanishing. In a time of only a minute, which seemed even longer then that, the cool embrace of death enveloped both Fu and the Seven Tails, whisking them away.

He shook her a bit, hoping to get just a small bit of life from her. However, the massive loss of blood, the wound, and at her defiance…

To his dismay…

She didn't breathe again…

Unable to hold back anymore, Naruto held her to him, his arms tight and his heart close. Seconds later, he threw his head back, and without restraint, unleashed a wail of anguish. His cries of despair and loss carried on through the sky high above and onto the horizon, tears streaming his face, and mingling with the blood of his friend's.

At the same time, a lone three-horned beetle, sitting on a leaf beneath the boy's shadow, spread its wings and flew off, disappearing into the wide open skies above…

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

_**

* * *

**_

_**Author's Note: **__Stories can't always have miracles. It was hard to write, I really loved Fu. But this was all a part of the story, and will be a turning point in Naruto's life. It was something he had to bare._

_I also constructed Fu's abilities around the concept of her tailed beast the Three-Horned Beetle, with it being the strongest animal in the world pound for pound. Since I knew little about her abilities, I constructed her on this info. Deidara also mentioned her to be quite powerful, and that she hated humans, and built her beliefs and personality on this idea. She's practically invulnerable to conventional weapons, explosions, as well as taijutsu and kenjutsu users. But not chakra sharpened weapons._

_Fu left happy, while Naruto left heartbroken (tears). I also hated this chapter_


	52. Stuck With You

_**Author's Note: **__If people were shocked or upset at the last chapter, I'm sorry. But I can guarantee, all your fears will be settled in this one. You'll be surprised._

_I'm not that much of a sadistic bastard… come on, no way I was gonna let Fu off without a hitch…_

_I have plans for a juicy Shippuden era… (evil laugh)_

* * *

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Stuck With You_

_**Nine Years Ago…**_

"_Naruto-kun! Naruto-kun… w-where are you?" Fu called out, walking through the village from street to street, combing every known location and safe area they had called their own for her friend. Ignoring the passing giants and silhouettes of adults and the laughter of other children running around in the background, the green haired girl wandering the maze of a town was both worried and scared for the boy's wellbeing._

"_Naruto-kun!"_

_Panting, she ran down another random road, stopping at the intersection at the end, before turning left and heading down another boulevard. Her search was taking her everywhere, her anxiety and fear climbing with every unsuccessful area. She had just left him for a few minutes to pickpocket for the last time this afternoon, so that they could buy a proper dinner, and as per their plan, she had expected to meet up with him at the end of the road and their shift. But after half an hour of waiting patiently, he didn't show up, and that worried her to no end._

_After a few minutes of relentless searching, Fu ran round a corner back to the street where they were previously, intent on doing one final check of the area, only to bump into a stranger wearing a purple trench coat and a wide-brimmed hat. She was nudged to the side, staggered by the run in._

_Nervously, she bowed to the woman, apologizing for her lack of attentiveness. "I… I'm sorry miss… sorry…"_

"_Oh, that's okay little one. Carry on," Kisarabi exclaimed, the woman patting the little girl on the head before walking off, whistling a happy tune as she went on her way. The white haired bounty hunter disappeared into the crowds a few seconds later, her coat trailing behind her, and leaving a rather befuddled Fu standing on the side of the road._

"_Hmm… what a strange looking lady," the jinchuriki murmured._

_With a shake of her head, she turned to leave and reengage in her quest for her best friend, but was once again side-tracked when another, tall, shady figure suddenly appeared before her. Backing up a little when she bumped into the tree of a person, resulting in her back pressing up against the wall behind her, Fu looked up to see who it was that was standing in her way._

_She half expected a law enforcer or a samurai from their attire, out to stop her thieving and mischief for good._

_However, her thoughts were far from the truth._

_If it weren't for all her time living on the streets in a world filled with assassins, murderers and alike, she would have screamed out of fear. However, the demon host was pretty used to the sight of a cloaked figure with an overshadowed face looking down at her. I mean, she and Naruto met one last Tuesday, and he was a pretty funny drunk._

_The person in front of her on the other hand, was clearly a young woman in her late teens, and a complete stranger at that, with a pair of black eyes with red tomoes spinning around the pupils, which stared daggers back into her own orange eyes. The young girl was clearly unfamiliar with the Uchiha, yet she knew that this person must have come from a prospective clan to possess those irises._

_In either case of concern and curiosity, Fu's eyes shimmered as she shared a staring contest with the tall figure in question, not knowing what to expect._

_Cloak ruffling in the wind, the figure looked left and right, as if to periscope for trouble, before eventually kneeling down in front of the girl and taking a closer look at her. Fu backed away out of caution, as the woman looked her over, reaching out with a hand and gently caressing the side of her face. Eventually, the hooded kunoichi smiled and nodded her head._

"_Now I know I'm in the right timeframe," she murmured. "So young…"_

"_Huh?"_

"_You're Fu-chan right, the one who protects Naruto at the end of days?" the Uchiha replied._

"_Y-You know N-Naruto-kun?" Fu asked in surprise, stepping forward. She obviously mistook the question of one meant to describe a day-to-day basis, and was too young to consider its even deeper, philosophical meaning. "W-Where is he?"_

"_Oh, he's looking for you at the moment," the woman replied, smiling brightly at the young girl. She reached into her pocket, fumbling for the item in her possession. "I don't have much time, so I'll make this quick…"_

_Fu became rather suspicious at this point, and was about to make a break for it if the woman tried anything funny. However, just as she was tensing for a blow, Fu was caught off guard when the kunoichi in front of her pulled out a hairpin from her pocket; an orange jewelry with a golden shine that simply sparkled with untold value. The gleam of metal in the sun caught the girl's eye, and the young jinchuriki was unable to question or awe the headpiece for long when it was unexpectedly slipped into her hair by the stranger, clipping her locks back._

_Blinking in surprise, Fu moved to touch it, but Yukari took her hand and stopped her. The Uchiha shook her head at the young girl and lowered her hands, taking them into her own._

"_This was one of three precious heirloom hairclips worn by Mito Uzumaki, the wife of the First Hokage. It is the same one that she passed on to Kushina Uzumaki, Naruto's mother," the dark haired woman stated, giving the girl a comforting smile. "You play an important part in Naruto's future… so when the time comes, this will save your life…"_

"_S-Save… my life?"_

"_It will protect you… trust me…"_

_Before Fu could respond to the surprisingly kind woman's words, Yukari quickly stood up and walked off. The jinchuriki was about to pursue her with a question, but was stopped when she heard her friend's voice call out from behind her._

"_Fu-chan! Fu-chan! Look!" Naruto exclaimed, jogging up to the girl and showing her the coin Kisarabi had given him some time ago. After searching for his companion for a good half-hour, he was relieved to have found her, and in between his breaths of air, showed her the prize he had gained. The valuable gold coin flashed in the sunlight, its intricate carvings and symbols reflecting in both their awe-filled eyes._

"_It's a pure gold coin! We can buy a week's worth of dinner with this!"_

"_Wow! That's amazing Naruto-kun!" Fu exclaimed, taking his hands in hers. The moment she embraced his hands, and shared with him a warm smile and a giggle, the blonde suddenly became aware of the hairclip pushing back her bangs. Having not seen it before, he pointed it out curiously._

"_Hey, where did you get that hairclip?"_

"_Oh," Fu ran her hand over it and touched it, its metallic surface flashing in the sun. "A lady gave it to me. Do you like it?"_

"_Y-Yeah. It makes your hair look very pretty," Naruto smiled. "I like it." Fu blinked in surprise at his answer, and as a result, blushed and nodded her head toward him, hugging the boy in gratitude to his comment. Taking his hand in hers, she began pulling him along, leading him back to their home._

_As the two kids ran off, they were unaware of the woman watching them from the shadows. Hidden safely away in an alleyway, the younger version of Yukari Uchiha smiled and pulled her hood over to cover her eyes, hiding her face away from the sunlight._

"_So, you gave it to her?" a male's voice asked._

_Yukari turned around and began to walk, passing by the tall swordsman of Hikita, who had just recently left Kirigakure with her, and was leaning against the wall of the alley with his arms folded. He watched as she strolled passed, curious as to what she was accomplishing with her little stunt._

"_Of course…" she replied._

"_You do realize these time skips are incredibly risky," Hikita stated, warning the woman of her choices and actions. "You are interfering too much in his life. Events have already skewed off course; things are going to get dangerous…."_

"_Believe me, events are going exactly as planned," Yukari stated, glancing back at the swordsman. "Akatsuki will be coming after the tailed beasts for whatever plans this 'phantom' of Madara Uchiha has for them. He will use the Ame Orphans for his own purposes, making them believe he is supporting their cause, while really feeding his own. In order to prevent the Akatsuki from acquiring all the tailed beasts, one of them has to be hidden away, or at least, taken off the shogi board for a brief period of time until the threat has passed. In doing so, I'm preventing the Ten-Tailed Beast from returning to the earth, as it cannot be completed without the others…"_

"_All the same, you should just let things be as they are. The Kyuubi brat is going to have a real shock when he realizes what that heirloom actually does," Hikita said, earning a giggle from Yukari. The woman obviously knew a lot more then she was letting on to, even to him, and he still went with her willingly._

_The Uchiha shrugged off his questions and walked on, with him following._

"_I know. Isn't this fun?"_

_

* * *

_

_**Present day…**_

_**Right next to the Battlefield…**_

Naruto did what any sensible person would do, and patched up Fu's wounds before making her comfortable where she lay on the soft soil. It was common decency after all to tidy her up, and since he intended to bring her back to Konoha with him, he wanted to make the journey for her as bearable as possible.

After wrapping her in cloth taken from his supply scroll, he then went about carving out a mark on the shoreline of the lake, now sitting in the middle of the wasteland of dead trees. It was a simple task really.

Taking a huge slab of rock, he transformed it into a memorial stone he hoped would last for many years to come. Placing it against the side of a tree and impaling a kunai into the roof of it, the young Jonin began to write across the surface of it. He briefly described in detail the events that occurred here, and wrote in memory of his closest friend, a few simple words he felt he needed to be said.

**In Memory of Fu: May her Spirit be Free and at Peace. Her Sacrifice will be remembered.**

Sighing, he lowered the knife he used in his carvings, and holstered it. He knelt before the stone and placed his hands together, mumbling a short prayer to the Gods to protect her, and rose to his feet once he had said enough. Slipping his hands into his pockets, he stared at the stone through sullen eyes and a fallen face, the memories of him and Fu coming back to him full force.

His cheeks showed the stains of recently dried up tears, and his heart clenched in agony.

After all, it was hard to say good-bye to someone you loved.

"I'm sorry for what happened to Fu-chan…"

Naruto didn't jump at the voice, but was surprised nonetheless. He turned to his right, unexpectedly seeing the familiar, cloaked figure of Yukari Uchiha standing beside him, staring down at the stone as he was. Blinking, he watched as the woman turned to face him with a small smile drawn across her lips, her unique Sharingan deactivating as she looked into his eyes.

"She was a strong girl," Yukari whispered. "I don't think there is any other person out there who could have endured as much as her."

The blonde simply stared at her when she finished speaking, and then turned back to the tablet, unresponsive. Seeing that he was still down in the dumps, Yukari shrugged her shoulders and turned heel, walking towards the area where the green haired girl lay by the beach, staring up at the sky.

When the Uchiha reached her, she simply stared down at the former jinchuriki, giving her a considerate smile. "She must have been really close to you to have this effect. It's the first time I've ever seen you cry…"

"You have no idea," Naruto replied, looking away. In all honesty, he didn't want to hear anything from the woman. However, his highly sensitive hearing prevented him from blocking out the world completely.

"Still, it could be worse."

"How could it be worse?" The young Jonin turned to face her, pulling his hands out of his pockets in his sharp maneuver. "I just killed my closest friend! The first person I ever considered family in my entire life! The first girl I ever loved!" Naruto snapped back, showing her the tears brimming at his eyes, despite her not looking in his direction. "How can anything else be worse then this?"

"Heh… you're overreacting," Yukari looked back at him. Crouching down beside the body of the girl, she slowly and attentively took the strands of Fu's soft, silky hair between her fingers, and showed him the hairpiece slipped into her locks, holding back the bangs that once covered her face. "After all, I didn't train her over the past eight years in secret while you were gone to help her control her Tailed Beast for it to simply end like this…"

Naruto catching on to the grin she wore and the information she was implying, gritted his teeth and began a furious march over to her. His balled fists and nails drawing blood from his palms indicated he was more then pissed off at this point. Within seconds, he was towering over the crouching woman, who simply stared back up at him without a hint of fear.

"What the hell did you do?" Naruto growled as he glowered at her, at the same time his memories began bringing back images of him and Fu as street urchins when they were younger. His thoughts carelessly took him back to the days, to when and where he remembered her first wearing that hairpiece. "You gave that to her, didn't you? This is all a part of your sick, twisted game!"

"Believe me; everything I did was in order to save the future of this world…"

"Bullshit! What the hell kind of future is this? Using people to get your way! Look at her!" Naruto pointed at his dead friend. "She's gone and there is no way to bring her back!"

"Oh really," Yukari rose to her feet, smiling. "Well, we'll just see what happens in the next… I'd say… few seconds… maybe then you'll reconsider your verdict on the situation…"

Naruto glared at the woman oddly for a moment. That was all the time that passed before he noticed something strange happening to Fu right before his very eyes. When he looked, he saw the girl's body suddenly start to glow with an orange chakra, the same chakra that the Six Tails and the Eight Tails used when their jinchuriki entered their first stages of the transformation process. However, instead of her gaining a feral look, as well as the shape of her tailed beast, she instead suddenly became coated in silk like strands, which began to spread across her body as the chakra enveloped her and proceeded with damage control.

A minute or so later, the chakra faded away, leaving Fu wrapped in a pure white chrysalis. The boy stepped back in shock as Yukari smiled down at the girl, once the process had been completed.

"W-What the heck… what just happened?"

"You seem surprised. And here I thought Killer Bee taught you everything there was to know about the Tailed Beasts," Yukari exclaimed, looking up at the young Jonin as he backed away from her, and she rose to her feet. "Every jinchuriki is given a unique defensive capability by the Bijuu inside of them as a means of self-preservation. This however, is done at the incredible expense of their chakra, so that continued use of their unique abilities is limited. In reality, the demons like the Nine-Tailed Fox, the Six-Tailed Slug and the One-Tailed Tanuki for example, are really only looking out for themselves, and in doing so, protect their containers as best as they can, or else they would die if the injuries their hosts' sustain are too great."

She and Naruto looked back down towards Fu, the pupa beginning to harden around her, forming an almost impenetrable skin encompassing and shielding her body. Once the process was completed, it simply laid there, like a coffin. Of course, that was a pretty unreasonable term, as she somehow still had a bit of life left in her.

"Every Tailed Beast is different in respect to their hosts. The Kyuubi provides accelerated healing and regenerative capabilities for its container, including immunity from poisons that are normally fatal and cause death; cyanide being a prime example. The Hachibi alternatively, is more of an evasive creature, giving you the ability to excrete ink from your body in order to evade threats by clouding or blinding opponents, or making your body slick…"

"That's kind of gross," Naruto murmured, absorbing the new information being given to him.

"Tell me about it. Killer Bee uses it as writing ink for his songs. It's weird. Anyway… whenever serious damage occurs to the host or the demon, the Eight Tails can heal those wounds similarly to your Bijuu, particularly severed limbs. It can also substitute for lost limbs, as indicated by its octopus like characteristics. As you know, of course, aside from the two strongest demons, those others further down the line like Shukaku, provides a sand shield for its host, which reacts automatically and at their defense, making physical attacks against the jinchuriki relatively impossible. The Nibi, as it surrounds itself with fire, is constantly defended, and it can also provide this defense to its jinchuriki when he/she are using its chakra. It also makes the Two-Tailed Monster Cat the first conventional Bijuu to actively produce a cloak of chakra that is harmful on contact…"

"…"

Not getting anything out of Naruto accept a glare, Yukari sighed and continued. "The Sanbi, as indicated by its turtle like qualities, provides an armor stronger than steel for its jinchuriki host, as both an automatic and manual defense. However, it is only effective in brief intervals of about three-seconds apart, meaning the user loses a lot of chakra as a result of the defense, just like the Ichibi and Nibi. Of course, this trait isn't shared by all Bijuu. The jinchuriki host of the Yonbi, when its blood is drawn and spilt, it melts anything it touches when empowered by the Bijuu's chakra, making damaging the host in combat a huge risk for the attacker. The Gobi gives the user increased speed and agility, so that actually managing to attack it is made impossible as the host's speed is above that of a normal shinobi. Then there is the Rokubi… this one is interesting. Its defenses revolve around sheens of liquid, which neutralize all physical attacks to zero, and also allows the user to enact these abilities against foes offensively."

She then nodded down towards Fu. "Of course, you are aware of the incredible physical strength and invulnerability provided by the Nanabi for its container. It is also worth noting that it has a unique healing ability of its own. Though its process is slower than the Hachibi and quicker then the Rokubi's, when severely damaged, the host undergoes a pupa cycle, like the original beetle the demon bears resemblance to. Even close to death, the Tailed Beast can resurrect its host body," Yukari exclaimed, earning a rather shocked look from the young Jonin.

Naruto immediately stepped forward at the piece of info given to him, and leant over the cocoon to inspect it, placing his hand against it. Extending sharpened senses from years of experience and training of his own, he began to search for signs of life, as well as chakra, within the protective casing of the chrysalis. Some time into his investigation, he eventually found two life forces, just barely flickering in the center of the silk covering.

The Stubborn Seven-Tailed Horned Beetle nestled within Fu, not wanting to go down so easily, also saved her life.

Using the last of its chakra, it underwent its pupa state, leaving the girl and itself in a temporary coma as it slowly began to regenerate.

Though relieved when he detected his friends' presence, the blonde Jonin was still shaken up from the events that had transpired, and glanced over his shoulder towards the woman standing behind him.

"Why did you do this?" Naruto asked with his brow furrowing and his temper wavering. "She could have easily avoided all of this. Instead of warning her, you nearly had me kill her! WHY?"

"Well… she's still alive, isn't she? Chill out," Yukari shrugged; gesturing toward the silk-wrapped girl he was leaning against. "That hairpiece I gave her helped trigger the Bijuu's recovery after the near fatal blow, as well as sustain a reasonable amount of her own chakra in order to make the process work. I orchestrated all of this to protect you both…"

"Protect us?"

Yukari giggled and tapped the side of her nose. "That part is a secret for another time…"

Frowning, Naruto shook his head and glanced back down at the pupa. When he did, he closed his eyes and, albeit through great irritation, spoke up. He was more worried for his closest friend's wellbeing then his anger towards the woman standing behind him, and even though he didn't want to speak to her, he just couldn't help it.

"At least this will save her…" A small smile crossed his face and tears fell free from his eyes again, just for a few seconds. "I'm just… so relieved…"

"There is a drawback to this process, however," Yukari began, alerting Naruto to more, supposedly bad news that rocked him harder then any blow to the face.

Annoyed at the constant surprises he was receiving today he spun around and glared towards the kunoichi. Honestly, he should be expecting these at this point in his life.

"What?" he hissed through clenched teeth.

Yukari smiled awkwardly and gave him a nervous look. In spite of being far stronger then him, like… thousands of times stronger, she was still worried he might go into a Nine-Tailed state and rip her to pieces, regardless of her neutrality in this state. At least her anger was directed at her, and not at anyone else.

"Because… umm… Fu-chan was so close to death, the period in which she will remain cocooned will be… uhh… _some_… _quite a bit _of_ time_ into the foreseeable future," the Uchiha grinned. "For such a large, powerful tailed beast, in response to all the damages its host has suffered at the expense of its own chakra, it stands to reason…"

"How long will it take?" Naruto growled.

"About… two years…"

Naruto's jaw almost hit the floor. "T-Two ye… THAT'S WAY TOO LONG!" He turned back towards the pupa and slammed his fist on top of it, the side of his hand thumping against the protective encasement, and bouncing off uselessly. "OYE! YOU LAZY BUG! THAT'S MY GIRLFRIEND IN THERE! HURRY UP AND BRING HER BACK! DATTEBAYO!"

Yukari had to suppress some laughter at his antics over the procedure, making her shake her head at how he fussed over the girl. In this instance, he acted so much like his father when concerned, and a lot like his mother when flustered. Her giggles earned a tick-mark from the blonde, who simply rested his head against the side of the cocoon.

Suddenly, all of that crying, all of his prayers, and all of that anguish was all for naught, as Yukari pulled a fast one over him. The only reasonable conclusion he could settle on in terms of everything that has happened to him over the past… several years… could only be summed up into one word…

_Girls_…

They were all out to get him, and he was certain if anymore girls were to grow attached to him and come to live with him at his place, he would most surely die.

However, as he was resting against the cocoon and groaning his thoughts out, the Uchiha kunoichi standing behind him spoke up again.

"Oh yeah, one more thing…"

"Please… _no more_…" Naruto mumbled into the side of the casing, his voice muffled and eyes tearing up again, this time out of comical distress. "I can't take anymore of this. All of you are out to get me! All of you! Mia, Ero-Sennin, Baa-chan, Mum, Dad… Kami… this is all a big, fat joke planned out by the ring leader in all this…"

"Well… actually… it's in regards to Fu's recovery, for the time being," Yukari cleared her throat. "That hairpin she's wearing has a seal on it, similar to the necklace you wear around your neck to suppress the Tailed Beast's powers, as well as protect your chakra from it. When she kissed you, she unintentionally produced a seal bypass reaction with your own in the exchange of affection, and… well…"

Naruto suddenly looked up, eyes widening.

He was told time and time again by Jiraiya the unique traits of his seal, and how in making it, his mum and dad passed along pieces of their life-force and chakra into it. As a result, their spirits had the rather unhealthy habit of paying unexpected visits to him in the forms of spiritual manifestations, as well as, simply putting it, allowing them to hang around in the depths of his mind. If the results with Fu's seal caused an imprint to occur during their displays, it only meant one thing.

"Oh no…"

"_Naruto-kun!"_

Naruto paled when he suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around him, as a transparent image of Fu appeared floating behind him. She nuzzled his cheek affectionately, and in turn, earned a quiet moan from his lips. The transparent, slightly glowing, ghost of a jinchuriki laughed happily and kissed him on the cheek she was nuzzling, while hugging him tightly. Strangely enough though, he could still feel her suffocating him, despite being…

Well…

Dead…

**(**_**Inspired by Naruto Shippuden Episode 193: The Man Who Died Twice**_**)**

"_You're here! You're here! This __**is**__ heaven! I'm going to love it in this world!"_

"F-Fu-chan… y-you're…"

"_Yes…"_ the girl replied, waiting for the rest of his words to follow.

However, instead of responding to her, Naruto turned towards Yukari, who was giggling non-stop. The raven haired woman, unwilling to interrupt them, waved to him and turned to leave. But the young Jonin was having none of it.

Instead of sitting by to watch her run off this time, he gently peeled away from the girl hugging him and made a jump for the Uchiha, ending up grabbing the hem of her cloak and hitting the ground, flat out. He ended up being dragged along by the woman as she walked on, effortlessly.

"You! YOU!"

"Yes?" the Uchiha replied in a sweet voice, smirking down at the boy from over her shoulder as she dragged him along through the dirt.

"FIX THIS! RIGHT NOW! THIS ISN'T NORMAL!"

"Sorry Naruto-kun, but the effects are irreversible until the sealing period is over. In this particular case, it is the time from now to Fu's rejuvenation at the end of the two year cycle. Your father designed the seals for the Tailed Beasts specifically for this purpose. The transmission of foreign chakra from person to person helps the seal stay strong," Yukari smirked at him and brought her hood over her eyes, tipping her head to him. "Besides, Fu's with you now. That's good. Enjoy your baths, lack of privacy, and sleeping periods together…"

"WAIT!"

With that said, Yukari suddenly faded away, Naruto's hands eventually grabbing nothing but air. The boy gawked at the air space in front of him, seconds before he allowed his face to fall flat to the floor with a loud thump. He sobbed as he groveled at the earth, dragging his face left and right across it. With all the crazy out of his system he looked up, his cheeks and forehead smeared with mud.

"I bet dad didn't have to go through this shit…" _"That hentai Uchiha Crow!"_

"_Naruto-kun…"_ Fu murmured, the blonde shinobi glancing over his shoulder towards the apparition of the girl who caught his attention.

No question, he was thrilled to have Fu back and amongst the, ugh… _living_. It would just, take some getting used to the fact that she was a floating mass of chakra, in a sense, a ghost.

However, as he stared at the green haired girl several meters behind him, it took him a few seconds longer of contemplation to notice that she was floating a foot or so off of the ground, looking down at her arms and legs in a very analytical way.

After looking herself over, she then looked back up at Naruto, blinking in confusion.

"_Why am I transparent?"_

"Uhn… this is going to be a fun trip home…"

* * *

_**Two miles out from the battlefield…**_

Outside of the _Land of Woods_, a squad of shinobi was on its way to investigate a commotion that was taking place in the general area. Word got out that a jinchuriki was on the loose and causing problems for the locals and in response to the threat, feudal Lords and village leaders dispatched ninja in order to investigate or put a plug on the problem.

Out of the dozens of shinobi villages out there, only a small number of teams were sent out on the search, as very little man power could be spared at the moment. Some were called back, a set number of the unlucky few went off on wild goose chases, and others just gave up.

The only ones to come close to actually finding the jinchuriki, however, were the shinobi from _Otogakure_.

Accompanied by the _Sound Four_, the clone of Naruto Uzumaki, Naruko, following direct orders from her master, was on a course to hunt down the jinchuriki in question, and eliminate it.

As it was Orochimaru's goal to become the most powerful shinobi in the world by absorbing every known jutsu, he felt that the loss of a tailed beast would hinder his enemy, the Akatsuki. Being the greater threat, he calculated a bargaining chip or a player absent from their game would give him a bigger advantage, and allow him to grab more power before they found him.

Furthermore, dispatching Naruko to deal with the problem would test her abilities as the newest clone from his collection, and in the event was to prove unsuccessful; the only consequence would be yet another stepping stone for an even greater goal was lost to the cause.

Picking up on wisps of the tailed beasts' chakra, Naruko continued on course with Orochimaru's top bodyguards not too far behind. Tayuya, Jirobo, Sakon and Kidomaru, though under direct orders themselves to accompany the girl, were quickly growing impatient at the distance they were traveling, and being led by the newbie wasn't helping them that much.

"How much further is this… _jinchuriki_?" an irritated Sakon asked the team leader, calling out from the far right of the pack. "It's not like we have anything better to do."

"Shut up Sakon, geez," Tayuya snapped. "You can be a real pain sometimes."

"That's all you've been doing this entire trip: _complain_, _complain_, _complain_," Kidomaru muttered.

Donned in khaki shinobi robes, and wooden sandals, and with her only weapon being the one kunai, Naruko kept on without a single word, her hair tied back into pigtails, and carrying in the wind. When they arrived at a small clearing at the base of a cliff, the squad halted their progress, with the _Sound Four_ taking up flanks behind the leader.

Stepping out from the shadows of the forest, the blonde haired girl looked over the cliff, her senses tracing the jinchuriki target. The wisps of chakra in the air had notably thinned out, and it was beginning to get harder and harder to track the demon.

When a tremor in the earth reached the five as they were analyzing the cliff side, Kidomaru caught sight of a giant mushroom cloud blooming over the horizon line of the rock face, the blast coming from the deadwood valley. The fiery red and black cloud reached so far into the heavens, it formed a blanket in the clouds, and literally blocked out the sun.

Not long after the hot blast of smoke hit stratosphere, it dissipated, with ash floating away on the breeze being the final result.

"What the hell was that?" Kidomaru blinked in surprise.

"Probably our jinchuriki target in battle," Jirobo grumbled, crossing his arms. "Someone else has beaten us to it."

"Shit, and I was looking forward to fight," Tayuya grumbled.

Naruko blinked with her stoic expression still in play, as she watched the mushroom cloud fade away, and after some quick tabs on the chakras she was picking up, frowned. Looking down, she turned back towards the _Sound Four_, no emotions registering on her face whatsoever.

"The Nanabi is dead," Naruko stated, and began walking back in the direction they had come. "Mission complete…"

"Well that was an utter waste of time," Sakon folded his arms, grumbling.

"What the hell? How can you tell?" Tayuya asked, watching as the girl walked in between the four of them and onwards without a care.

Irked at not getting a response, the red head shoved past Jirobo and grabbed the blonde haired girl's shoulder. "Hey, bitch! I'm talking to you!"

The hand on her forcing her to a stop, Naruko unexpectedly spun around and, with a swift punch, sent Tayuya flying. The red haired flute player slammed into the Cliffside with a loud thud, and fell to the ground a second later, coughing out blood, bruised, and shaken. Astounded at the strength displayed by the girl, the other three members of the _Sound Four_ rounded on Naruko and glared at her.

"Hey! What the heck was that for?" Sakon asked.

"Attacking us out of the blue…you're worse than Kimimaro," Kidomaru snarled.

Naruko turned her glare on them momentarily, before slowly reached for her weapon. She drew her kunai from her holster at her side, and with a graceful hand movement, spun it between her fingers.

"My first mission was to eliminate the Seven Tails' jinchuriki. Status: _Complete_. My second mission was then to eliminate the Sound Four. Status: _In Progress_…"

The three Cursed Seal shinobi had but a second to react, before the girl just feet in front of them viciously and without hesitation, lunged at them, kunai first as she bolted towards her targets…

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

_**

* * *

**_

_**Author's Note: **__Now Naruto has a ghost following him around. I've always wanted to try this. It's like Tenchi Muyo and Maburaho all over again._


	53. Original Template

**NARUTO**

**Nox Noctis Ingredior**

_Original Template_

_**Half an hour…**_

_**Into the weirdest…**_

_Craziest…_

Unbelievable day Naruto was having. His right arm was bandaged and he had Band-Aids plastered all over his face. Wearing a new, orange T-shirt, black pants, the same sandals, and his headband wrapped around his right arm, the boy slowly, but surely made his way across the _Land of Woods_ and back home. Of course, the illusion that he was alone didn't come to pass, as he was constantly haunted by the presence of his closest friend…

As it turns out, it was more bearable then he expected.

A small smile on his face, he watched as Fu floated around him, giggling happily and taking to the skies. She eventually returned to ground level and, while the young Jonin walked along with his hands in his pockets, she came to float upside-down right next to him, both of them side-by-side.

"_So! Are we going to your home now, Naruto-kun?"_ she asked. _"I bet its lovely…"_

"_Swamped_, actually," Naruto grinned at her. "People keep barging in unannounced. I'm running out of room at the estate."

"_Oh, wow! You live at an estate? Your own estate!" _Fu exclaimed, floating round to his other side and grabbing the scruff of his shoulder, shaking it enthusiastically. _"That's amazing! Does it have a hot spring? I bet it does!"_

"Yup! Coincidentally, the first question everyone has asked me upon mention…"

Fu squealed excitedly and did flips through the air, but lost control and eventually hi the ground with a loud thud, face first. Naruto stopped walking and quickly bent down to help her, finding it rather surprising that he could still touch and feel her. For a manifestation, she sure was one of good quality.

Groaning, the green haired girl smiled at Naruto as he knelt next to her and rubbed the back of her head in a similar manner he did.

"_Oops… I need to work on my flying…"_

"That's… okay…" Naruto replied, but then looked away. His expression of delight falling, he let his fingers wander her shoulders, tickling her a little at his touch. However, when she saw the look of hurt and regret etched on his face, Fu quickly became concerned and leaned it, touching his cheek tenderly, and tilting her head at him.

"_W-What's wrong, Naruto-kun?"_

"It's just… it's my fault that you're like this. If I just… if I did… if I had _just_ let _you_ 'kill' me, you wouldn't be in this situation, and we could have lived happily together, as normal people," Naruto sighed, looking away, and laying his hand against hers as she caressed his cheek. "If you're angry at me… I'll… I'll understand…"

"_N-Naruto…"_ Fu moved in. Pulling the young ninja towards her, she pressed her cheek against hers. The strange warmth Naruto felt off of her applied itself to his skin as she nuzzled him affectionately, making him blink in surprise at her friendly actions. _"I don't blame you for what happened. I… I shouldn't have acted the way I did… if I… if I had just listened, and trusted you like I should have… then… things wouldn't have turned out this way, and I would still be walking about…"_

Naruto blinked, and then smiled when he saw her grin.

"_Besides, this is AWESOME!" _She suddenly took to the air, and floated about ten meters above him, hands on her hips and looking proud. However, as she started talking and expressing her excitement, she starting drifting off to her right, with Naruto following her with his eyes. _"Look at me! This is way cooler then transforming and performing ninjutsu! I can fly anywhere I want, I can walk through stuff, I can pick up objects and scare the crap out of people, and I can get the full person-to-person experience and then some." _She continued drifting through the air, Naruto raising an eyebrow as she didn't seem to stop from her slow, linear motion. _"I mean, you honestly have to try this, Naruto-kun! Being separated from my physical body never felt so cool! I can also age, so I'm not immortal, but I can't be killed! Hell yeah!"_

"Where are you going?" Naruto asked with a chuckle, seeing as Fu was now floating away from him.

"_Uhh… I ahh… I don't have… full control over my flight patterns yet. But this is still __**awesome**__… __**DAMMIT**__! __**STOP**__!"_ Fu began flailing around in mid-air awkwardly in an effort to stop herself as she drifted further and further away. Naruto shook his head with a grin and, getting to his feet, chased after her down the road.

He eventually caught up with her, and managed to yank her back down to his level. Laughing and giggling along the way, the pair continued onwards, crossing through the Land of Woods and back home. However, Naruto, not forgetting the details regarding his mission's specifications, remembered he needed to pass across the Land of Wind, before going back home. So, he took a detour, and began heading North Easterly.

* * *

_**Not too far away…**_

Sakon and Ukon breathed there last when suddenly, the same body they shared stopped functioning from several different factors. Number one was the massive amounts of damage patterned across their bodies, as well as having most of their blood drained from them through several holes punctured in several places, particularly the gaping hole Naruko had her fist currently through and holding them two feet off of the ground, her hand grabbing his spine. One of the other more irrelevant factors would be that they had the shit kicked out of them.

Tayuya, crawling back to her feet after having the beating of a lifetime, looked up, trembling from head to toe, and bleeding pools of blood from open wounds. When she did, she watched as Naruko ripped her arm out of the suspended Sakon, and allowed his corpse to fall lifeless to the ground.

With another _Sound Four_ member littering the battlefield, Naruko looked up towards the only surviving member, across a field covered in craters, scorch marks, splits in the earth, weapons and blood. With Sakon and Ukon lying dead on the ground in their own pool of blood, they accompanied the corpses of Jirobo, who had his head severed, and Kimimaro, who had literally been turned into a pretzel, his limbs twisted and bent in all sorts of places. It was a very miserable battlefield to be present on.

When Naruko spotted Tayuya, the red head gasped and quickly leapt to her feet, pulling out her flute and gripping it tightly in a single-handed grip.

As soon as she brought her musical weapon out, her Cursed Seal once again activated, the black patterns from it crisscrossing over her skin like square lightning bolts. The markings didn't just resemble random etchings on her skin; it also rapidly boosted her physical and chakra strength. With her energy level climbing to a reasonable level, she prepared for a second engagement with the blonde haired woman.

However, Naruko, having already proven more then enough against all three of her Doki, and dispelling them in the process of the immense battle, had the red head trembling in her boots, and doubting her abilities to stand up to her one on one.

The moment she pulled out her flute, she also made a grab for a kunai lying on the ground, and pitched it at the girl, who simply side-stepped it before lunging for her opponent across the field.

Tayuya retreated, quickly playing a tune, and hitting the approaching Naruko with sound waves to send her into a genjutsu, and boost her chances of escape. However, the blonde girl simply shrugged off the effects in mid-run, and within seconds, caught up with the red head. With a quick slight-of-hand maneuver, Naruko drew her kunai and, grabbing Tayuya's flute arm, slammed her against the wall of the cliff.

The impact did more then hurt the girl, but also knocked the flute out of her hand and cracked the wall. Naruko further pinned the kunoichi against the hard rock, securing her by slamming the kunai straight through her shoulder and into the wall, and also holding back her other arm and pressing her knees against her legs, literally sprawling them against the wall.

Tayuya managed to bite back the pain from the kunai driven straight through her shoulder, and after regaining her sense of vision, glared back at the girl with the pigtails. Her brown eyes meeting green, the red head growled against pain and chakra exhaustion, her Cursed Seal faltering.

In a last ditch effort to sound tough, she leaned forward, meeting the girl nose to nose, and shouted. "What the fuck are you?"

Naruko only blinked her face expressionless. "I am a weapon for Lord Orochimaru, and nothing more. He brought me into this world, and as his tool, I will do everything in my power to make sure his dreams and aspirations come true."

"Y-You have no soul!" Tayuya hissed. "Look at yourself! You fucking… _butcher_ my comrades without even flinching, and you just stride over corpses like they are your carpet! You're just trash, who belongs with garbage, you bitch!"

Naruko simply glared into the girl's eyes, seeing her fury and pain reflected in her orbs. Of course, in spite of being several times stronger then her, the blonde haired girl didn't let up, and simply looked her up and down, inspecting the damage on her…

As well as other things…

"You are quite well-endowed," Naruko murmured, looking down at the girl's chest, earning a raised eyebrow from her.

"What?"

Before Tayuya could say anything else, Naruko suddenly reached down and grabbed her crotch, earning a yelp from the girl, who squirmed against her grip. The blonde's right eyebrow rose curiously.

"You're still a virgin. Fascinating. I would have expected you to have lost it by now," Naruko blinked, and then leaned in closer to the trembling Tayuya, who glared up at her through clenched eyes. "I can change that…"

"Fuck you!" Tayuya shouted, using her free hand slap the girl across the face. It didn't do much, as her shoulder was pinned down by the kunai, not to mention Naruko could barely feel the hits given to her. "What's wrong with you, freak?"

Naruko simply blinked, and pushed her arm back into place, leaning in closer so that their noses touched.

"Because I am a clone of a boy, I have more than just a healthy fascination of the female condition. I'm particularly interested in girls as hot-blooded as you," Naruko murmured in a monotone voice, leaning in more. "I'm sure you will satisfy me greatly…"

"Go screw yourself!" Tayuya spat in her face, before beginning to pump chakra through her veins. "Like hell I'll let you have your way with me! I'd rather die!" Her Cursed Seal began spreading across her body, and within seconds, she transformed, the remaining gauze wrapped around her head snapping as her horns grew out. Shaking off the saliva from her face, Naruko looked to see the girl grin as she transformed to the Second Stage of her Cursed Seal, her strength increasing and beginning to fight back against Naruko's, now beginning to struggle against her. "Come on, bitch!"

Naruko, gritting her teeth slightly, then smiled confidently, and reached up with her left hand, as Tayuya swung in with a hook to her face.

"Very well then…"

Blocking the red head's hook, Naruko batted it aside and grabbed the girl's shirt, ripping it from her body, exposing her bare chest. Shocked, Tayuya attempted to cover her modesty, only to receive an upper cut to the stomach. The blow alone was strong enough to smack saliva and blood flying from her mouth, before Naruko grabbed her by a horn and yanked her over her, showing her the back of her neck, where her Cursed Seal was, blowing brightly.

Naruko smirked, and then placed her left hand over it.

"Oh look. I've found your off-switch," she exclaimed.

Suddenly, seal patterns appeared across her hand, and with a twist, she switched off the Cursed Seal, smoke suddenly rising from between her fingers. Tayuya's eyes flew open and went blank, as she suddenly felt her chakra begin draining from her body.

Like how Yoroi drained chakra, Naruko simply sucked the dark chakra from Tayuya's body and added it to her own. As she did, the red head's body began changing back to its base state, the darkened skin becoming sucked into the blonde's palm clenching the back of her neck, and her horns shrunk away, leaving her normal skull intact. Once she had reverted back to normal, Naruko giggled and pulled her hand free.

Turning to glance down at the palm, she spotted the three square hooks of Tayuya's Cursed Seal on her hand, the tattoo remaining imprinted on her before suddenly burning away. Flexing her fingers, Naruko cracked her neck, shrugging.

"What a powerful seal. I can see why Lord Orochimaru favors it," Naruko then pulled Tayuya back upright, and glared into her now shocked and terrified face. Now with all of her chakra drained from her and Cursed Seal removed, she was defenseless. "Are you curious as to how I can remove your Curse Mark?"

Tayuya gulped, earning a frown from the blonde haired girl.

"Orochimaru bestowed upon me the greatest of his techniques, as well as the techniques of the shinobi with the most potential in the Land of Fire, all culminating into one, supreme body. A body that will one day become his," Naruko stated, tilting her head to the side and smirking. "I am the result of all his years of hard work, a shinobi who feels no pain, no remorse, no hatred… just a machine, one not completely limited by lack of emotions and compassion. You see, a shinobi with aspirations and feelings, is just as deadly as one without…"

Tayuya gritted her teeth as she glared back into the eyes of her dominatrix of an opponent, who furrowed her brow and lean in, pressing her forehead against hers.

"Before I kill you… I'm going to have some fun with you…"

Just as Naruko licked her lips and was leaning in for a kiss, a shadow crossed the wall in front of her, causing her eyes to widen suddenly. All of a sudden, blood suddenly sprayed out of her chest when a kunai lodged itself through her back, followed by the force of a bullet train suddenly rammed her in the side of her head a second later. Tayuya had to hold back a scream when her opponent was sent hurling through the air at high speed, crashing straight through a boulder, before hitting the ground some distance away.

When Tayuya looked back up from her head turn, she was given a sight only reserved for action comics: a figure bearing a striking resemblance to her opponent and would-be-rapist, standing before her, defending her. It took her several seconds to realize that it was in fact the boy from the Chunin Exams who fought the Three-Tailed Giant Turtle and its jinchuriki.

It was quite astonishing…

"The fuck…"

"Oh… exquisite…" Naruto murmured, looking behind him and smirking at the red head now hunched up against the wall, covering her chest. "So much for first impressions… nice to meet you…"

"…"

"Okay…" Naruto glanced back ahead of him, furrowing his brow and smirk turning into a frown. "What have we got here?"

Glaring towards the boulder he had just sent to offender through, he watched as the blonde haired girl pulled herself out of the rubble, stumble a bit, and then dust herself down. Once she was satisfactorily clean, she then walked around the giant rock and, reaching for her back, yanked out the kunai lodged in her spine.

Sparing it but a glance, she then threw it away, before throwing her right hand forward. Naruto was only able to catch a glimpse when suddenly, high velocity nano-wire suddenly shot through the air and whipped around him. He aimed to duck, and noticed that the wire wasn't directed at him, but to the kunai lodged in Tayuya's shoulder. The girl let out a sharp cry of agony when the blade was yanked out of her, and she collapsed to her knees.

The kunai returned to its owner with a whip crack through the air, before being caught in a tight grip. Naruto blinked when he saw how the girl was attached to the one weapon, let alone the shocking similarities between him and her.

If her body wasn't swimming with his own chakra, along with a host of other familiar energy signatures, Naruto would have mistaken her as a part of his clan. As it turns out, judging from the company she was in, she must have been one of Orochimaru's insane experiments.

Unlike the rest of them, this one was a success.

The girl cracked her neck to the side as soon as she was on her feet, and with a trickle of blood running down from the corner of her mouth, she simply glared back at her new opponent, who had just entered the battlefield.

"Mmm… I got rejected… oh well…"

_**"You'll be meeting **__**yourself**__** soon enough…"**_ Yukari's words echoed through Naruto's head, causing him to roll his eyes in annoyance.

"Fan-_fucking_-tastic," the young Jonin muttered. "Anymore surprises I should be expecting today? Why don't we just throw in the leader of Akatsuki? Make it a full set!" He was obviously being sarcastic.

"So… you are my original template?" Naruko exclaimed, twirling her only kunai in her hand, before holstering it with cowboy like precision. "Granted I have a few more additions to my body in comparison to yours, I'd say you are a spitting image of myself…"

"Ditto," Naruto snapped back. "I can sense your foul chakra. You're something that shouldn't exist in this world, something vial and corrupt…"

"Shut your mouth, Kyuubi," Naruko pointed at him. "Don't talk to me like you understand everything about the world."

"Ouch, I'm not that mean, am I?" Naruto glanced back at Tayuya, who was just sitting there, listening to the talk being thrown about. The red head blinked and shrugged her shoulders.

"Sort of, shit-head…"

"Ah… okay," Naruto glared back over at Naruko. "I'll give you that one. However, I have no intention of letting _you_ leave here alive, no matter how much you look like me… _God_… that makes no sense whatsoever…"

"_This is beyond weird," _Tayuya thought, furrowing her brow at the head-scratching boy. _"Just let me die already, I don't need this shit…"_

Naruko stepped back a little when she saw her doppelganger step towards her, his best glare fixated on her. Although she was feeling confident in her abilities, she wasn't in the mood of fighting against the original Naruto, who looked like he was raring to go at it. Comparing her chakra to his own, even though it was significantly lower then hers, she wasn't going to chance at going at the Kyuubi's chakra, which she could sense a lot of.

Deciding to play it safe, she backed down.

"My mission here is done. I'm going," Naruko stated, wiping the blood away from her chin. "Maybe we'll fight at another, more appropriate time…" Forming a hand-seal, slabs of earth suddenly jutted up from the ground around her, in a manner similar to one of Gaara's compressed sand techniques. The girl smirked at her copy before the giant lengths of earth suddenly slammed together around her, encasing her in the rocky tomb. "Later, _dattebayo_…"

Once she was encased, the rocks then pulled her into the ground, leaving only upturned earth and gravel in their wake. Naruto's right eye twitched when he watched the girl disappear, and shook his head.

"She's mocking me…"

Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto then glanced around and down at Tayuya, who desperately tried to cover up her modesty, and looked away with a heavy blush. The blonde simply blinked in interest of the girl, whom he recognized as the member of the _Sound Four_ from his bingo book. Ignoring the fact that he had just saved a supposed enemy, he instead took into account, the remaining _Sound Four_ members lying all over the place. Well, not as wholes, but in pieces anyway.

"Geez… you're incredibly lucky to be still alive, you know that?" Naruto commented, earning a glare from the girl who turned to look up at him. He then, finally, noticed that she was covering up her bear chest, and although he was more resilient to such displays, couldn't help but whistle. "Wow, good on you. You should probably find something to cover that up…"

"Fuck you, pervert!"

"Heh… well, at least it's not a thank you, like every other time. Points for originality," Naruto mused, turning around to face her fully, and watching her squirm in discomfort under her gaze. She blinked in surprise when he suddenly removed his shirt, and although her first thoughts were that he was going to do something unsavory to her, he instead handed her his shirt. "Here… you'll need this…"

Tayuya looked from the shirt to him several times, before slowly coming to a decision, and snatching it from here. Turning her back on him, she quickly slipped it over her head and on, ignoring the tatters of her last short still tucked into the purple rope belt around her waist.

Once the shirt was slipped over her, she began struggling to her feet, but ultimately failed due to a lack of chakra. Seeing her plight, Naruto helped her up. Despite her attempts to throw him off, including an annoyed glare and growl, she couldn't help but allow him to help her, and she casually fell into her arms. Thanks to her chakra being sucked out of her, she was now seeing triple, with the three Naruto's she saw in front of her moving in blurry circles.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Y-Yeah… I'm fine, shit-head," Tayuya replied, pushing off of him and out of his arms. "Just… just give me a moment…"

"Take all the time you need…"

After shaking off the dizziness and the fatigue, the red head then glared back up at the spiky haired blonde, who simply smiled down at her, hands on his hips. Looking him up and down, while not paying particular mind to his scarred upper-body, and well-toned torso and chest, she looked back up at his face.

"What are you smirking at?"

"Nothing…"

"Are you going to kill me, or what?" Tayuya asked, stretching her neck out a little bit and flexing her arms. "I am an enemy of _your_ village after all, and since I have nowhere else to go now that that two-timing shit-stain Orochimaru tried to kill me, I guess you'll have to suffice." She held her arms out, leaving a big wide opening in her defense, and closed her eyes. "Go ahead, make it quick. I'm useless anyway… all my chakra is gone…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow your roll," Naruto eased back a bit, still grinning in amusement. "I'm not gonna kill you. Heck, my policy against killing is a rather _strict_ one, particularly after today, when I accidentally killed my best friend…"

Tayuya cracked open an eye and looked at him again. Considering his expression and the way his voice held no wavers of doubt whatsoever, she raised an eyebrow. "So… you're… _not_ going to kill me?"

Naruto shook his head.

She then lowered her arms. "So you're going to bring me in for questioning? Right? Get some 'valuable' information on the Sound Village and Orochimaru? Great!" She threw her hands in the air briefly, before crossing her arms. "Perfect! Boy, this is, by far, the fucking worst day in my entire life. They'll probably torture me physically and mentally, even take away my virginity with what they'll do to me in ANBU headquarters…"

"Your virg… what? No!" Naruto shook his head. "Of course not, they won't… violate you in any way, unless you're completely _uncooperative_, rude, expectant of violation through sexual conduct, and, to put it as delicately as possible, are a bit of a whore, then they might comply to a gracious, half-an-hour function in the bed. But if you want to avoid that, then all you have to do is answer all of their questions without complaint, and be _nice_. Ibiki has a short temper, but is actually a softy outside of work. Although… I can't really guarantee anything from Anko…"

Naruto actually forgot about his sensei and her womanly ways, and visibly shivered at the prospect of her interrogation methods. He rubbed the back of his head nervously. _"Damn… maybe I can find a loop hole…"_

"So… they won't do any of that shit? Because I am _**fed up**_ with it!" Tayuya shouted, turning away. "It's not like it's never happened before, I've always avoided it by killing the culprits or whatever… (sigh)… it's been tough being me…"

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I'll talk to you… interrogation wise of course. That is, if you want to come with me," Naruto said, nodding in her direction, and making it perfectly clear to her that she had options in this situation. "I'll understand if you don't want to, you are an _Oto_ shinobi after all. If Orochimaru is out to get you, then I don't think you'll last very long on your own, unless you can fight him effectively. However, if you come with me, I can guarantee your safety."

Tayuya looked at him again, sizing him up. After taking in everything he has said to her so far, he didn't seem like an untrustworthy guy. In fact, he was the nicest, honest, most considerate ninja she has ever met. Every other shinobi outside of her companions were all yelling, accusing and stabby. It was a real change of pace for her.

So, setting aside her traumatizing experience with the evil doppelganger of the shinobi in front of her, she bucked up all the confidence she could, and betting it all on the cards she had, held her hand out to him.

"My name is Tayuya…"

"Tayuya… nice name," Naruto exclaimed. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki."

"Pleasure…" the red head replied, snatching her hand away from his. "Now, I'm not gonna bitch. You can take me back to your village and do whatever shit you want to me…"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at her statement, to which the girl blushed heavily and looked away, embarrassed.

"I didn't mean literally, of course, cock-head…"

"_What a colorful character. She will definitely be a real 'joy' around the village," _Naruto smirked in amusement. "Alright then. You let _me_ pull the strings, and try not to swear so much. I'm not sure the girls I hang around with will be very… _pleased_ to hear some of those words…"

"I won't use the big 'b', 'p' and 'w'…happy?"

"Good enough…"

"Wait? Other girls?" Tayuya raised an eyebrow at him. "As in; _girlfriends_?"

"Well… yeah…"

"…"

"What?"

"You think you're such a stud, don't you," Tayuya smirked at him. "Don't you go thinking I'll fall into line like the others. I'm not easy."

"I'm not expecting you to," Naruto laughed, crossing his arms. "But _Tayuya_… where have I heard that name before… I could have sworn somebody mentio…" he then looked up, his eyes widening when he suddenly remembered where exactly he had heard that name before. Her words poured into his head like a boiling tea into a cup…

"_**You yourself have restarted the clan, and are happily married to Sakura Haruno, Hinata Hyuuga, Anko Mitarashi, **__**Tayuya**__**…" **_Yukari's words and nobody else's.

"Oh…"

"What?"

"Oh… uhh… nothing," Naruto cleared his throat and turned away. "We should… probably get going. Fu!"

Tayuya blinked when she heard him call another name, and looked in the direction he was. She got the shock of a lifetime when she suddenly saw a transparent girl rise up from the ground, arms folded and glaring at the red head. The ghost-jinchuriki's jealousy obvious, she sized up yet another competitor, before looking back over at Naruto.

"_You don't seriously intend to bring her back with you as well?"_

"Fu-chan, I'm simply doing it because I feel that I need to," Naruto replied, walking up to the girl and reassuring her with a smile. "She needs help, okay…"

"_Hmph… she's vulgar and rude,"_ Fu stated, turning her head. _"If you two are going to have kids, they'll be coming out of her, cursing like sailors…"_

"Hey listen, it's not like that!" Naruto said, turning Fu towards her. Since she was lighter then a feather, she turned easily in mid-air. "I'm just helping her because she has nowhere else to go…"

"Uhhh…"

The pair turned back to Tayuya, to see her staring wide-eyed at Fu, pointing at her with her mouth hanging open. Speechless, she settled for staring for the next few seconds, before her vocal cords eventually restarted.

"A… g-g-g-ghost…" she murmured.

A second later, she passed out, keeling over and hitting the ground, hard.

Naruto and Fu watched her fall, and once the red head was unconsciously sprawled out before them, the young Jonin ran a hand over his face and groaned.

"Fantastic…"

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

_**

* * *

**_

_**Author's Note: **__I didn't want to drawl on the Sound Four's battle too much, the only one I really liked out of all of them was Tayuya anyway. I just wanted to convey that Naruko was so powerful that she effortlessly wiped the floor with them. If I were to play her anywhere, she would be the same strength as Kimimaro._

_Anyway…hope you enjoyed the chapter…coming up soon, the Land of Snow Movie Arc._

_**Character Stats: **__(Evaluating Characters based on Rank in the __Bingo Book_. _However, just because they are weaker by comparison, doesn't affect the overall conclusion of a fight, as a battle can go either way)_

_Not a complete list, just randomly selected characters, and completely irrelevant from the previous list._

_(In order from weakest to strongest)_

_**B-Rank:**_

_Iruka Umino_

_Hinata Hyuuga_

_Sakura Haruno_

_Subaku no Gaara_

_**A-Rank:**_

_Anko Mitarashi_

_Yagura (Under Mind-Control)_

_Naruto Uzumaki_

_Kakashi Hatake_

_Gai_

_Guren_

_Fu_

_**S-Rank:**_

_Hiruzen Sarutobi (Third Hokage)_

_Tsunade_

_Orochimaru_

_Deidara_

_Kisame Hoshigaki_

_Konan (I think so. She was one of the first to fuck up Tobi big-time)_

_Itachi Uchiha_

_Kisarabi_

_Killer Bee_

_Yahiko_

_**SS-Rank:**_

_Madara Uchiha (Tobi - presently)_

_Hikita_

_Jiraiya_

_**SSS-Rank:**_

_Nagato (a.k.a Pein)_

_Mia (Sage of Six Paths)_


End file.
